


I'm Coming Home To You

by hmtoon21



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Action & Romance, F/M, Inspired by InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale, Manga & Anime, Post-InuYasha, Protective InuYasha (InuYasha), References to InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:20:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 21
Words: 48,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27503701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hmtoon21/pseuds/hmtoon21
Summary: Inuyasha and Kagome have decided to live their lives in the Present, leaving their Feudal friends and family to start somewhere new. When Kagome is violently assaulted, their world is turned upside down. With everything else being thrown their way, will they be able to heal and move on?
Relationships: Higurashi Kagome/InuYasha
Kudos: 13





	1. Let's Begin Again

**Author's Note:**

> This fic contains a very violent rape scene as well as cursing, sex scenes, graphic details concerning the road to recovery, as well as much more. If you're easily triggered or offended by very adult and mature themes and scenes, I advise you to turn back now while you can. This fic isn't for everyone, but I do hope you'll give it a chance. I've put a lot of hard work into this and I'd like to see it be granted the recognition I feel it deserves.

“Are you absolutely sure you want to do this? We can stay here,” I asked Inuyasha, waiting for his confirmation. Even though I’d missed him terribly, I didn’t want to put him through having everything he ever knew and cared for taken away because of me.  
“Of course I am. I wanna be with you, and if that means being in your time, then so be it. Besides, who’s honestly gonna miss me?” he chuckled. He tossed his apple in the air and caught it one-handed. He takes a large bite out of it, juice leaving a glistening trail down his chin. I reveled in the way he looked at me, that same arrogant and knowing smirk pushing its way through my memories. I pulled a napkin out of my pocket and blotted the juice away, giving him a look.  
“You know lots of people are going to miss you,” I argued. I held my hand up and counted on my fingers, “Miroku, Sango, Kaede, Shippo, some of the villagers, maybe even Sesshomaru. This is a heavy decision that you shouldn’t make lightly. Once we pass through this time, we will for sure not be able to come back. I’m not even totally sure why I was able to.”  
He grabbed my hand and placed it on his knee, rubbing his thumb across my knuckles. “I know what kind of decision I’m making, Kagome. I’m not taking you away from your family and I’m not living without you.” He looked away at the vast distance before us, tearing at the grass with fidgety fingers. “Even someone like me can see that you love your family a lot.”  
A few days after his decision, we were packed up and ready to pass through the well for the last time. Sango, Miroku, their three kids, Kaede, and Shippo stood around us, prepared to say their goodbyes. I first ran to Sango, the woman that had become my best friend.  
“I’m going to miss you guys so much,” she cried, her tears dampening my shoulder. She wrapped her arms around me tightly, squeezing my waist before letting go, shoving a note in my pocket. The front read For When You Need To Remember. “Just so you won’t forget us, okay?” she whispered in my ear before letting me move on to Miroku.  
He had his head down, looking at the ground instead of at me. He looked up slowly, his eyes red and his skin blotchy. He had been crying. In an effort to bide time before my own tears, I threw my arms around him, rubbing my hand across his back. “Please take care of Sango and your beautiful babies.”  
He nodded into my shoulder. “Take care of Inuyasha, this is going to be an adjustment for him,” he muttered into my hair. He pushed his old set of prayer beads into my hand, closing it tightly. A most prized possession of his gifted to me.   
I pulled away and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek, squeezing his hands and moving on to the kids. I hugged them all tightly and pulled out some gifts for them. Three little teddy bears and three different kinds of Pocky for each of them. They were very happy for their treats, and thanked me nicely.   
Kaede hugged me with the warmth and comfort I so desired in a time like this, and promised to look after Shippo. “You are so strong, so smart and brave. I know you’ll have a beautiful life together,” she assured me.  
“Why can’t I go with you?” Shippo asked curiously as I knelt in front of him.  
“You know I would bring all of you with me if I could,” I insisted, straightening his shirt. He placed his little hands on mine and I looked up at him, the sight of his watery eyes bringing tears to my own. “I don’t want you to think I left because I don’t love you guys. I love all of you so much,” I swallowed the rising lump in my throat, “and you will always be in my heart.”  
“I love you too, Kagome,” Shippo’s voice wavered but he sniffed, pulling himself together. I hugged him tight and let a few tears escape.   
I wouldn’t get to see him grow up, watch him become the powerful demon I knew he could be.   
“I want you to have this,” he held out his spinning top after I pulled away. His most sacred treasure.   
I took it in my hands gently, finding it harder to keep it together. “I will cherish this for the rest of my life,” I promised, my voice thick with emotion.   
Inuyasha said goodbye in a way I hadn’t expected. No grunts and side eyes, more love and genuine sadness. Like he was a whole new person.   
He and Miroku grabbed the back of each other’s necks, leaning their foreheads together and muttering quietly to each other. I hated taking him away from his best friend.   
Sango gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek, earning a smile from Inuyasha. He picked up all of the kids and hugged them tightly, blowing raspberries on their cheeks.  
“Don’t forget to get big so you can beat up Shippo and your father,” he told them with a smile, their giggles erupting around us.  
I closed my eyes and listened as he murmured to them, soft little voices wishing Uncle Yasha safe travels.  
Kaede placed her hands on his cheeks and smiled. “You’ve become a fine man, Inuyasha. Do be careful in the other world. Watch over our dear girl.”  
He shook his head. “Crazy old woman,” he grumbled, but smiled and hugged her anyway. He got to Shippo and I could almost swear he had tears in his eyes.  
“You have to be strong now,” he murmured to Shippo as he knelt in front of him. “I’m counting on you to look after everybody. Can you do that?”  
Shippo still had tears running down his furry cheeks, but puffed his chest and gave Inuyasha a stiff nod anyway. They hugged each other tenderly, Inuyasha even gave him a soft kiss on his head. I could feel the love radiating from their embrace, bringing tears to my eyes again as I watched them say goodbye. I watched Inuyasha as he stood, his mouth set in a firm line and sadness swimming in his eyes. He nodded his head towards the well and we walked to it hand in hand, ready to start our new life together.


	2. Shoes

“Why do I gotta do this? My clothes are fine!” Inuyasha spat behind the curtain of the changing room.  
“Your clothes aren’t even from this century, Inuyasha. You have to blend in,” I whispered loudly. “Besides, I like what I picked out for you.”  
He threw the curtain open and my heart all but stopped. He wore a white t-shirt that hugged every muscle in his chest and abdomen with dark blue jeans that hung low on his hips and added a defining shape to his calves and thighs. “Shoes are the worst,” he grumbled, his clawed hands making their way to the button then the zipper of his pants. He kicked the shoes off and before I could even blush, his pants were around his knees as he shoved them off his body.   
I grabbed his wrists to halt his movements. “What the heck are you doing!”  
“What?” he questioned, his expression one of confusion. “They’re uncomfortable.”  
“Yes, but-” I looked down, a blush forming on my cheeks. The boxers he wore left very little to the imagination. I squeaked and turned away, shutting the curtain behind me and facing the wall. I’d seen his...junk a few times, all accidents but still. It was surprising to see it, nonetheless.  
He ripped open the curtain and I spun around to see him glaring at me. “What’s your deal, woman?” His pants were up around his hips once again, but still unbuttoned and unzipped. As if he’d read my mind he looked down, angling his torso away from me as he fixed his pants. He looked back at me, a light blush across his cheeks. “What are you staring at?”  
I blinked and stuttered, “Oh uh, you um- you l-look nice! Do you like how the shirt, shoes, and pants fit?”  
“Yeah, they’re fine,” he mumbled. “Don’t you got stuff to try on too?”  
“Oh, yeah! Here,” I handed him the shirt and pants he was wearing previously, courtesy of Sota getting a couple of boxes out of the attic of Dad’s old clothes for Inuyasha to borrow until we got him some clothes of his own. “I’m going to go do that. Grab a few more shirts that are like that one and some more pants.”  
I walked across the hallway to the women’s changing room with my own armful of things to try on. I placed everything on the designated rack in my sectioned changing area and began to undress while I stared at a yellow sundress I picked out. The neckline was deep and the sleeves were long and airy, while the skirt was short and flowy. I maneuvered the dress off of the complicated hanger and pulled it over my body. I stared at my reflection, unable to decide if I liked it or not. I peeked my head out of the curtain and looked around, finding Inuyasha standing at the end of the hallway, waiting for me.  
“Hey!” I called, getting his attention, “C’mere!” He sluggishly walked towards me, shifting his items into his other arm. I stepped out from behind the curtain and his eyes widened. “Do you like this one?” I spun once, “I think I do, but I’m not sure.”  
He reached a hand out and gently rubbed the material between his fingers. He looked at me and smiled, “You look really nice.” He took a step back and looked at me still, no lust or perverted thoughts swimming in his eyes. He looked as if he was seeing me.  
I swallowed and nodded, breaking the connection. “Okay, stay here. I’ll need more opinions.” I closed the curtain and took off the dress, placing it on the Keep rack. I grabbed the tight red bodycon dress with the sweetheart neckline and shimmied it on. “Darn,” I muttered, realizing it had a zipper. I stepped out of the changing room again, “Inuyasha, will you zip this please?” I heard him make this noise similar to choking and I turned to face him. He was looking me up and down, practically drooling. I furrowed my brow and snapped my fingers in his face. He blinked and shook his head, telling me to turn. I turned away from him and he zipped the dress, his fingers shaking a bit. “How about this?” I asked, placing my hands on my hips. He nodded vigorously and I giggled. I did this seven more times, his reaction getting better and better. He all but fainted when I pulled out the bikinis. The one that really got him was a leather skirt with a purple bralette top. It made my breasts and backside look phenomenal. I made sure of it before I came out of the room again.  
I sauntered out from behind the curtain, my hair falling in cascading waves down my back. “How about this?” I asked innocently. I did a slow spin and felt his eyes burning holes into my backside.   
His cheeks flushed and he looked away, letting out a sigh and muttered something about getting home soon.  
Smirking at the effect I still had on him, I placed all the clothes I wasn’t keeping back on their hangers and piled the others in the crook of my right arm. I looked back at the mirror, back into my old clothes and my hair a bit messy, a light sunburn on my cheekbones from being in the feudal era for a few days. There was a different light in my eyes, something new and improved. I felt as if the clothes weren’t just clothes, but a peek into the new life awaiting me outside of the changing room.  
As if on cue, I heard a rap against the wall beside me, Inuyasha’s gruff voice telling me to hurry up.   
“What’s with you wanting to get me home so soon?” I purred, knowing this would turn him into a red-faced stuttering mess.  
He was silent for a moment, then he sputtered, “K-Kagome! Just get out here!”  
Taking one last look at myself, I left the old me in that changing room.   
At the checkout, the woman scanning our items kept looking up at Inuyasha. He stared back at her, unwavering.  
“I’m sorry to be rude, but are your eyes real?” the cashier blurted.  
“Yeah, of course they are.” He almost sounded offended. I gave him a light pinch on the back of his elbow, code for “You’re being rude”. Inuyasha rolled his eyes and said,   
“The hair is real too.” The cashier smiled and continued scanning everything.  
“Lots of stuff; new change?” she asked, glancing at me this time.  
I glanced at Inuyasha and back at the cashier. “You could say that,” I answered vaguely.


	3. Pizza And Moon Pies

“Mom! Sota! Grandpa! We’re home!” I announced, tossing my keys on the table next to the front door. I heard nothing but noticed a Post-it sitting on the counter. I placed my bags on the floor as Inuyasha jogged up the stairs, seemingly excited to put his new clothes away. The Post-It read, “Went to Osaka to visit Aunt Janyo, be back next weekend! Money on the table for takeout/groceries!” We’d only been here for two days and they’re already leaving? I sighed and dropped the note back on the counter.  
“Where did they go?” Inuyasha called as he jogged back down the stairs. He was wearing one of the blue t-shirts and a pair of black basketball shorts that I picked out for him, no socks or shoes.  
I smiled inwardly but said nothing. I loved to see him embracing our new life.  
“To visit my aunt in Osaka. Are you finished with your clothes already?” I asked.  
“Yep, hung them up and everything,” he stated. I stared at him. He stared back. “You won’t believe me until you go look, will you?” he accused, a glare settling on his face. I shrugged and grabbed my bags, jogging up the stairs as he followed me.  
“So, pizza or ramen? Mom left money for takeout, but we have to go grocery shopping tomorrow.”  
“I’ve never had pizza,” Inuyasha murmured. I almost dropped my bags in surprise. Surely I’d brought them a pizza at least once!  
“Are you sure?” I questioned as we walked into my bedroom, now littered with plastic shopping bags and paper tags. “It’s round, has red sauce and melty white stuff on top? Sometimes it has some sort of meat?” He only shook his head, shrugging as he picked at a loose thread on my comforter. “We’re getting pizza, wings, and breadsticks. I’ll even go down to the corner store and grab some soda! We’re going all out tonight!” I exclaimed.  
I turned away and grabbed my cell phone out of my purse. I dialed the number and paced around my room while it rang. I glanced over at Inuyasha, who was busy looking through one of my bags. He pulled out the lacey pink bra and panty set and looked at it, confused.  
“Big Konhora’s pizza, will this be for takeaway or delivery?” a cheery female voice responded.  
“This will be for takeaway, Kagome Higurashi,” I answered, watching Inuyasha figure out what it’s for. I hoped and prayed he didn’t find the stockings that went with the set. He glanced back and forth between the set and me, realization finally dawning on him. He cleared his throat and placed the set back in the bag, ultimately deciding to leave my stuff alone.  
“Okay! What can I get for you, Kagome?” the woman on the phone replied after a series of typing sounds.  
“We need a large pepperoni pizza, an order of barbecue wings, and some garlic breadsticks. Lots of cheese sauce, please.”  
I finished placing the order and tossed my cell on the bed.  
I looked at Inuyasha still sitting quietly on the bed. “You wanna go to the corner store to get some drinks?”  
His ears perked. “Could we get some of that stuff with the marble in the neck of the bottle?”  
I smiled. “Absolutely.” Walking down to the corner store, we talked about how Inuyasha was feeling about being here so far.  
“It’s not bad. I miss everyone, but otherwise, I can’t complain,” he assured me, giving me a gentle bump with his elbow. “What about you? You liked everyone there even more than I did.”  
I knew he was lying, but I let him get away with it. He would tell me when he was ready.  
The pang in my heart at the remembrance of our friends told me I was hurting, but I didn’t want to make it about me. “Oh, well of course I miss them. They were a part of our lives for a long time. But, everyone has to move on at some point.”  
“We don’t, do we?” Inuyasha asked, sadness clouding his features. I’ve noticed since we came home two days ago that Inuyasha had become more in touch with his human emotions. It both warmed me as well as mildly confused me. On one hand, he was becoming a more loving and compassionate man, someone I felt I could confide in and feel all my feelings around without holding back. On the other hand, this had become a very drastic difference between two days ago and now. It was an adjustment, but a good one. He was more willing to display happiness and sadness, even excitement.  
He had stopped walking, turning to face me. I intertwined our fingers together, “Of course not, Inuyasha. This,” I wagged a finger in between our bodies, “is forever. No matter what.”   
He looked at me and gently rubbed his thumb over my cheekbone. It didn’t take words to know what he was thinking.   
I stood on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek, smiling and pulling him the last few yards to the corner store. I pushed the door open and the familiar bell jingling alerted the store keeper of our arrival. He looked up over his glasses and placed his paper on the counter in front of him, a coffee mug with a faded personalized label on the front reading, “Worlds Greatest Grandpa” sat off to his left. We acknowledged the shopkeeper and I grabbed a basket from the stack next to the front door. I pulled Inuyasha to the back wall where the special sodas were.  
Snatching four of the lemon-lime sodas, I waited for Inuyasha to pick four more. He stared at the display in front of him, the cool air emitting from the open refrigerator gently blowing a few of his stray hairs away from his face. He adjusted the red ball cap on his head and clicked his tongue. “I don’t know, there are too many options!”  
“Well,” I offered, “the strawberry, grape, and blueberry ones are really good. I’d stay away from the chocolate-flavored ones. Something tells me carbonation and chocolate shouldn’t be together.”  
He thought for a few more moments and grabbed one of each of the three I recommended, then touched the top of the mango-pineapple one with a single claw. He looked at me and I nodded, a smile creeping across his face. He gently placed his choices in the basket, taking it from me after the added weight. We made our way to the dessert aisle and I placed a couple of boxes of the Chocolate Moon Pies in with our soda.  
Inuyasha eyed me curiously, “What’s a Moon Pie?”  
“Just about the greatest dessert snack ever made,” I answered, checking the time. “Whoops, lets go, the pizza will be done in two minutes!” We made haste to the front counter where the old man scanned our items with, thankfully, as much hurry as possible.  
He smiled at us as he handed us our bags, “Enjoy your pizza.”  
I smiled back and waved goodbye as we left the store, walking another block to the pizza shop, then back home.


	4. Apartment 3B

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING! Do NOT read this if you are triggered by sexual assault!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the second and final trigger warning I'll be putting in this fic. There could be talk and remembrance of sexual assault. If you're not cool with that, please turn back now. I do not want this taken down because someone read this when I warned them not to.

“Damn, Kagome, that’s a lot of food,” Inuyasha commented, setting the boxes on the dining room table.   
I grabbed two of the lemon-lime sodas from the bag and stored the rest in the fridge. “You’ll be happy I got this much after you try it.” I shut the fridge and met Inuyasha in the dining room with paper plates, handing him a soda. We sat down and I opened the smallest box: the barbecue wings. I placed two on mine and Inuyasha’s plates, sucking the sauce off of my fingers. He stared at me, his cheeks pink and his leg bouncing under the table. I looked at him. “What?”  
“Could you not do that?” he demanded, tearing his gaze away to glare at his plate.  
“Do what?” I asked, bewildered. How had I offended him this time?  
“Don’t suck on your damned fingers,” he grumbled, picking up a wing and taking a bite. His eyes widened and he took another bite, then finished off his other wing. After he scarfed down his fourth and went for a fifth, I grabbed his wrist.   
“Hold on, try the other stuff too,” I giggled.   
He pulled his hand away, blushing slightly. He opened the other smaller box containing the garlic breadsticks. The aroma was enough to make my mouth water. I placed two on my plate as well as his and opened the pizza box, the main event. I placed a piping hot slice on my plate, admiring the melty cheese and crispy pepperoni decorating the surface.  
“Wow, that smells amazing,” Inuyasha observed, sliding a pizza slice onto his plate as well. He unwrapped and popped his soda with ease, taking a swig and placing it back on the table before grabbing mine, unwrapping and popping it the way he did his. I smiled, and uncapped a cheese sauce, offering him one as well. “What is it?” he asked as he took the top off.  
“It’s cheese, but you dip your breadsticks and pizza in it,” I informed him, popping a pepperoni in my mouth.  
“I thought this was cheese,” he mumbled, pointing at the melted mozzarella on the pizza.  
“It is, but this is...flavor-enhancing cheese.” I didn’t really know how to explain it.   
He shrugged and tore off the end of one of his breadsticks, dipping it in the cheese and placing it in his mouth. Just like the wings, his face lit up.  
“Damn, Kagome. I’m almost upset you didn’t tell us about this sooner,” he said, taking a big bite of his pizza slice. He groaned deeply and rolled his eyes in pleasure, and it gave me a funny feeling in my lower belly. I crossed my legs and ate my food silently, sipping my soda and nodding in understanding of the things he said.   
We ate quietly until the food satiated our appetites, then he helped me put everything away and load the dishwasher.   
“This thing is insane! So, you don’t even have to wash ‘em? You just put them in here and it washes the dishes?”  
I nodded, amused by his behavior, “Well, you have to put one of these in there,” I held up a dishwasher pod then placed it in the compartment, “then you close it,” I closed the door, “then you push start.” I pushed the start button and the machine locked and whirred, beginning the washing cycle. I turned to Inuyasha. “I have to go feed my friend's cat while she’s out of town. You can stay here, though. I won’t be more than an hour.”  
He nodded, walking me to the door. He hooked his finger around mine and turned me to face him. “You wanna watch one of those Hallows Eve movies that you like when you get back?”  
“Oh, sure!” I agreed, smiling and planting a quick kiss on his mouth. “I’ll be back soon,” I assured him, walking out the door and down to the street.   
The walk to Miasoka’s was short, only three blocks away. She was off seeing her father in Paris for the summer then moving there a month after she got back. She’s going to school to be a fashion designer, and her father told her that he would pay for her schooling if she came to live with him. I would be going to the local university here in Tokyo, full ride and only a twenty minute train to get there. Mom was so happy when we got the acceptance letter as well as the scholarship letter all in the same day.  
“Oh, your father would be so proud of you, Kagome!” she gushed, hugging me tightly in the kitchen just over a month ago. “I have to go call your aunt, but we’re going out and celebrating right after.” She went to the living room to make her call as I stared at the documents in my hand. It was the thing that made me finally realize I could never even try to go back to the feudal era. I shed a few tears but realized I wasn’t going to get anywhere crying. I put my shoulders back, wiped my tears, and went on with my life. It wasn’t until a few weeks later I went back, then Inuyasha decided he was going to come stay with me. I was going to get my bachelor’s in computer science and communications, two jobs I know will never cease to exist.  
I came upon her apartment building and punched in the code for the door, the buzzer allowing me to come inside. I walked up two flights of stairs and came upon her apartment, 3B. I dug the key out of my pocket and shoved it into the lock, turning and twisting the knob, then pushing my way inside.  
“Kimchi,” I cooed, looking for the cat I was supposed to feed. She meowed in the other room and came trotting out, rubbing herself against my legs and purring loudly. “Hi, sweet girl. Want some dinner?” She meowed again and ran to her food bowl, waiting patiently.   
I went into the kitchen and opened the cupboard revealing a shelf full of canned cat food. I picked a shrimp flavored one and opened it, knocking the contents into her bowl and petting her as she ate happily. I stayed for a few more minutes to play then I left, locking the door behind me and observing how dark it had become outside. I walked down the stairs and out the secured door, the chill of the evening biting at my exposed legs. I’d better get home, I thought. I walked quickly down the street, stopping at the corner until the crosswalk light turned green. I could almost see my street, just a few more minutes.   
I walked past an alley and was suddenly yanked to the side by my arm, a scream not having time to escape my throat. Something threw me to the hard and dirty ground on my belly, the wind coming out of me in a short burst. I wheezed, hoping to gain some air back in my lungs. Someone sat on the back of my thighs and grabbed my hair, clamping a hand over my mouth.   
“If you make a fucking sound, I’ll slice your throat ear to ear, bitch,” a deep but hoarse voice whispered to me. His breath smelled like something had died in his mouth, and I could feel the dirt and crud on his fingers as they covered my lips. It took everything in me not to gag. My stomach dropped when I realized what was about to happen.   
I tried flailing my arms and legs, trying to hit a trash can or something that made noise. There was suddenly a sharp pain in my cheekbone. Light blasted through my vision, was it shock or had I just been hit? I was unsure of everything, my head was spinning and my mouth was wet. My nose was exploding with immediate pain, my face making contact with the dirty floor of the alley. I watched the blood pool under my face as the man lifted the back of my dress. My nose had to be broken, the blood beneath my chin was evidence enough. My adrenaline was pumping through my veins, my body screamed at me to thrash, scream, scratch him. But I couldn’t seem to move. With the adrenaline came overwhelming fear and shock.   
The sound of my panties being torn ripped through my ears before I felt them being ripped off of me. Metal clinked following the sound, the unmistakable unbluckling of his belt.  
I tried once more to flail, but I still couldn’t make a sound. He punched me repeatedly in my ribs, shoving my knees apart with his and laying his body flat against mine. He wrapped a meaty arm around my throat and squeezed. My vision went blurry. I hoped I was passing out but it was only tears. His erection rubbed against my folds, and I tried to scream, my God did I try. The feeling not dissimilar to being stabbed with a white hot poker invaded my senses, my scream never getting the chance to leave my throat. Nerve endings fired as I silently begged them to die with the pain.   
I felt everything tear. This isn’t how it’s supposed to be, I thought to myself as he grunted on top of me, thrusting in and out of me hard and fast. He reached his dirty and calloused hand under my dress and gripped my breast, pinching my nipple between his fingers. He moved his hand down and began to rub me vigorously, as if trying to stimulate me.   
“Oh, yeah. You’re so wet for me.”   
It made me feel nauseous, I knew in my heart it was blood he was talking about. It was like sandpaper being rubbed in an open wound, like he was splitting me in half.   
He grunted, “Damn, you like that?” He pounded into me hard, and I prayed it would be over soon, that Inuyasha would be here. He had to, he was always there to help me, to save me from the bad guys. Why wasn’t he here now? He rubbed me faster, and it began to hurt.   
The tears fell freely from my eyes as his arm loosened slightly and I took a breath, small whimpers leaving my throat. His movements became jerkier and I knew the end was near. With a grunt, he shoved himself all the way inside of me, spilling his evil deed into me.  
He got up, zipped his pants, and he was gone.   
I laid there for a while, not knowing what to do. With shaking hands I gathered myself, grabbing the panties he ripped off of me and holding them, looking at them. White and cotton. The physical embodiment of purity.   
I was no longer pure.  
It felt like I’d been kicked in the throat, every breath felt like I was inhaling gravel. I stood up on legs that didn’t feel like mine, walking out of the alley and to my home. My eye was swollen shut, but my nose had stopped bleeding. I walked up the steps to my home and opened the door, dropping my keys and purse on the floor.  
“Hey, took you awhile,” Inuyasha called from upstairs. He came trotting down the steps but he stopped just when I saw his feet. Panic suddenly filled me. What was he going to do? Would he be angry? A man had violated me, I was supposed to be his and he mine. He sniffed the air and continued down the steps. “Kagome, did you fall? Scrape your knee or something? I smell-” He made it to the last step, his eyes finding me. His face drained of color and he sprinted the rest of the way to me, stopping inches away. He looked down as I did, watching the blood trickle down my legs.  
“Please,” I wheezed, “take me to the hospital.” The world around me lost its light. I fell into it, disappearing into the blackness that enveloped me.


	5. The Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said I'd be done with the trigger warnings after the previous chapter, but this is for sure the last one. If you're triggered by talk of sexual assault and medical exams surrounding sexual assault, please turn back now.

Inuyasha’s Point of View  
Kagome shut the door behind her, the scent of her shampoo following after her retreating frame. I stared at the door for a minute, almost expecting her to poke her head back in and invite me on her short journey.  
When she didn’t, I sighed, then retreated to her- no, our bedroom.  
Sleeping in the same bed hadn’t been as strange or awkward as I thought it would be. It felt natural. I hadn’t slept with anyone since my mother died, so I thought it would be uncomfortable or foreign. Feeling her warmth in my arms every night had provided me with a sense of contentment I haven’t felt in a really long time.  
Ducking through the doorway to the bedroom, I was pleasantly surrounded by her scent once again. It was everywhere in the bedroom and bathroom, almost making me feel like she was still here when she was out. I sat on the bed and leaned back against the wall, taking in the surroundings I had memorized so long ago. Everything was still in the same place, from her books still being alphabetized on her bookshelf to the cup of pens, pencils, and markers on the top right side of her desk.  
It felt like I was coming home when I crossed the well for the last time with Kagome. Seeing her family and being back to a place I hadn’t seen in so long brought a feeling of nostalgia I hadn’t realized I missed. This place was always smelly and loud, too many people and not enough space. But, when I passed through, I convinced myself I would be more than happy to deal with this every day for the rest of my life if Kagome kept looking at me the way she did when I climbed out of the well and stood in front of her.  
It was like she was seeing me for the first time again. The recognition was in her eyes, but so was a sense of longing. I can only imagine that maybe, she missed me just as much as I missed her.  
We stood in the wellhouse for a while, holding each other and taking it all in. Her breathing was deep and her heart thudded loudly.  
“Is this real?”  
Her voice was so small, so uncertain. It was like this cavernous room had absorbed all sound.  
I pulled my chin from the top of her head, leaning back a little to see her face. Placing a gentle hand on her cheek, I whispered back, “I sure hope so.”  
I opened my eyes from the recap of the memory, realizing Kagome was walking up the steps to the front door. I jumped up, walking to the stairs and starting down just as her key slid in the door and the handle twisted. It squeaked a little as it opened, her bag and keys thudded to the floor. I glanced at the clock on the wall; she should’ve been back a while ago.  
“Hey, took you a while,” I commented, only being a little mad. Maybe she got caught up with the cat? She always loved playing with the things. I caught the scent of something foul, pausing my feet for only a second to sniff the air. My stomach clenched tightly, it was blood. Not just blood, it smelled like a man had had his paws all over her. And...why does it smell like that?  
Like sex? And fear.  
There’s no way, maybe she just bumped into someone on accident, fell and scraped her knee. Silly girl, always hurting herself. My mind raced with thoughts and possibilities, but I’d been paused for too long, I needed to figure out what was wrong.  
“Hey, Kagome, did you fall or something? I smell-” I stopped when she came into view, the smell coming in full force now. The sight of her was like a punch to the gut, all of the feeling left my hands and feet as I scanned her form.  
She was covered in dark red blood, her nose was twisted at a wrong angle and her eye was bulging and swollen. A slash across her cheekbone bled slowly, trailing down her face and dripping onto her yellow sweater. Her clothes were dirty and wrinkled and the toes of her shoes were scuffed and caked with dirt. Her bag and keys lay on the floor beside her feet having dropped from her hand when she walked in.  
Before I knew it I was directly in front of her, the wounds to her face seeming worse close up. I could smell the blood that had yet to spill. I prayed that for whatever reason I was wrong, she just got mugged or something.   
Anything but what I had already confirmed with my nose.   
Everything in me screamed to kill the bastard that hurt her. I couldn’t say or do anything, I only looked down to watch the blood dripping down her porcelain legs, damning her beautiful skin with his disgusting actions.  
I looked back up at my Kagome, the ringing left my ears and for the first time I heard her wheezing breath and erratic heartbeat. Her good eye was open, tears freely falling down her marred and bloodied skin. The white of her eye was red and around it was turning a deep shade of purple. She opened her mouth, her teeth stained with blood, as if she had any left to spare.  
“Please,” she wheezed, my instincts finally kicking in at full force at the sound of her broken voice that sounded like tinkling bells only an hour ago, “take me to the hospital.”  
I caught her frail body as she collapsed, from the trauma or exhaustion I wasn’t sure. I sprang into action immediately, grabbing her purse and keys from the floor and slamming the door behind me, jumping down the steps to the shrine in one bound and taking off at full speed to the hospital as she had instructed. I didn’t care if anyone saw me, all that mattered was getting her to the hospital to be treated. My arms flexed around the precious cargo in my arms and I carried her closely, cursing myself for letting this happen to her. Her protection is my job, a job that I swore I’d do until my last dying breath.   
I failed her. This is my fault.  
My eyes stung with emotion, but I bit it back, letting my need to get her to a safe place override my disappointment in myself.  
We arrived at the hospital within minutes, almost crashing through the sliding doors because they didn’t open fast enough. I kept an ear trained on her breathing and heart rate, noticing that it was similar to her sleeping. Better than wheezing and uneven, I suppose.  
A woman sitting at a desk looked up as I came through, her eyes widening and her hand reaching to the telephone on her left. She pushed a couple of buttons and said a few words, then hung up the phone and came out from behind her area. The small woman rushed over and pulled the two pronged contraption from around her neck, placing the ends in her ears and the circular metal disk in her palm. I sniffed her, concluding she was in fact there to help and relaxed a bit as she placed the disk on Kagome’s chest. She paused for a moment, listening I think.  
“What happened?” she demanded, grabbing my elbow and leading me to a bed on wheels.  
Reluctantly, I placed Kagome on the bed as gently as I could, keeping one hand on the top of her head. “I don’t know.”  
Another person in a similar outfit came through the double-doors to my left, glancing at me with confused eyes and grabbing the bar on the other end of the bed. The two began pushing the bed through the doors to a sterile-smelling environment, barely giving me time to catch up as they fast-walked down the corridor.  
“What do you mean, you don’t know?” she questioned as we turned around a corner.  
“Exactly what I said,” I growled, “She came home and she looked like this. I didn’t exactly get a rundown before she fainted!”  
We came into a small room with machines and wires everywhere. The young girl wearing a similar outfit to the older woman was putting these things on Kagome, making her look less and less human by the second.  
The woman scoffed, looking at me with angry eyes. “You did this, didn’t you? You’re just trying to save yourself!”  
My anger flared to immeasurable heights. How dare this bitch accuse me of hurting Kagome! “You wanna say that again, old woman!”  
“Nurse Takahashi! That’s quite enough!” a new woman came in the door, stepping to the side and pointing to the bitch. “Go back to the front, now. I’ll take it from here.”  
She hesitated but complied, sending me daggers as she walked out of the room and shut the door behind her. When I looked back at Kagome, she was wearing a blue polka dot dress with short sleeves and strings tied in the back. She was still asleep, but at least she wasn’t wearing those dirty clothes anymore. The younger nurse looked to the new woman for instruction, waiting patiently.  
The woman looked at me, her black and silver hair swishing around her neck as she turned her head. “My name is Doctor Himoto. I’ll be overseeing your girlfriend’s care. Could you tell me a little bit about what happened?” Her voice was deep but soft, soothing, even. It calmed my anger, letting devastation take its place.  
I pushed a clawed hand through my hair, realizing in that moment I didn’t have my hat on. I froze for a moment, my other hand thankfully finding it stuffed in my pocket. Kagome always tells me to have it on me no matter what. It’s this time I appreciate her nagging.   
I shoved the hat onto my head, glancing nervously at the doctor. She was waiting patiently for my reply, looking into my eyes for answers. I swallowed. “She came home after going to feed her friends cat and she looked like this. I don’t know what happened. She fainted before she could tell me.”  
Doctor Himoto nodded thoughtfully. “Do you think you could fill out some forms for us? Just so we have her basic information so we can look up any previous files she might have here.”  
“I don’t know much, just her name and birthday. She ain’t allergic to anything. She...she just wanted to help out her friend, ya know? She’s such a good person. Bad things aren’t supposed to happen to people like her.” I’m aware that I’m babbling, but I can’t stop. “I should’ve gone with her. I haven’t let her go anywhere alone since we got back. I’m supposed to protect her. She...she’s too important.” I looked at the doctor, my eyes pleading. “You gotta fix her. I can’t go on without her.”

End Inuyasha’s POV

The first thing I noticed when I woke was my head felt like it had been kicked in. Sledge hammers were beating the inside of my skull. I was lying in a bed, blinding white lights making my eyes burn. I placed a hand over my eyes to block out the offending light and heard a chair scoot across the floor.  
“Kagome?” a male whispered, taking my other hand in his. No, not any male. Inuyasha. “Are you awake?”   
I turned my head that now felt like a cinder block slowly, finding him crouching next to me, his eyes big and focused.  
I took a breath, broken glass invaded my throat and lungs. “Doctor,” I wheezed.   
Inuyasha nodded and went to the door, opening it and calling for a doctor. A nurse and a woman in a white lab coat with yellow scrubs underneath made their way into the room. Inuyasha took his place back at my side and held my hand in his gently.  
“Kagome, my name is Dr. Himoto. Do you know why you’re here?” the woman in the lab coat asked, a soothing nature to her voice. She was tall, her black bob streaked with grey, and dark circles under her eyes. She had a kind face while simultaneously seeming assertive.  
I swallowed the broken glass and nodded, the memory of an arm around my throat throwing me into a coughing fit. “I was raped.” I managed to choke it out in between coughs.   
Inuyasha took in a harsh breath, leaning his head against our clasped hands. I could feel his whole body shaking, with fear or rage I wasn’t sure.  
Dr. Himoto nodded. “Yes. You sustained a fracture to your cheek bone, a broken nose, rib fractures, and there is...obvious trauma to the area between your legs. There was significant blood in that area, but we are unsure of what happened to you. Were you raped?” She asked the last question quietly, albeit firmly. I gave her a slow nod, knowing if I said yes, it would only make it more real that it was. She nodded back. “If you would like,” she cleared her throat, “we can do a rape kit. It’s your decision. We can call the police and make a report. All you have to do is say the word.” Her voice was not unlike a mother’s, soothing and even. I realized then I would kill to have my mother here.  
“Yes, I want to do the kit and make a report.” Inuyasha looked up at me and gave my hand a gentle squeeze. I looked back up at the doctor. “I want Inuyasha with me.”  
The nurse glanced at the doctor then back at me. “I’m very sorry ma’am, but it is policy that it’s only two healthcare professionals and one detective in the room during the collection of evidence.”   
Inuyasha let out a low growl, he made it abundantly clear he wasn’t letting me go anywhere without him.  
Panic rose within me. “But, please. I need him there with me.” My voice cracked and I felt the tears well.  
Dr. Himoto assured me, “We will make an exception, okay? He can absolutely be in the room with you.” I let out a breath and stared at the ceiling, willing the tears to go away. I couldn’t let myself cry, not yet. “We will call the police then we will be back when a detective has arrived to do the kit.”   
I listened to their shoes squeak as they left the room.  
I allowed myself to cry silently as Inuyasha kissed my fingers and the top of my hand, whispering soothingly that he would be there every second. We waited for about thirty minutes in silence, my mind attempting to keep up with the unfamiliar scenery and noises happening outside my door. There was muffled talking and a stern “No”, then silence again until there was a knock. It cracked open and we heard, “Miss Higurashi? It’s Detective Simone, may I come in?”  
“Yes,” I croaked, attempting to sit up carefully. Inuyasha placed his hand on my back and his arm under my knees, gently guiding me to a sitting position when Detective Simone walked in. She took a seat in a chair at the end of my bed, offering a smile.  
“Hello, Miss Higurashi. I have a few questions for you, if that’s okay.” Her voice was sweet like honey, an American accent wrapping me in a warm cocoon. She had dark chocolate-colored skin, long braids hung over her shoulders and black framed glasses adorned her face. She had bright white teeth and a kind smile. I nodded and she continued, “Can you tell me what happened to you?”  
I cleared my throat. “I left the house to go feed my friend’s cat; she lives only three blocks away. When I was leaving her apartment, I walked by an alley, one that I walk by a lot to get to the corner store on Fifth.” I took in a shuddering breath and let it out slowly. “As I was walking by, someone reached out and grabbed me.” I sniffled and Inuyasha let out something similar to a whine, his hand tightening his hold on mine. “H-He threw me on the ground and it knocked the wind out of me. He covered my mouth an-and told me if I made a s-sound he would slit my throat.” Inuyasha gently wiped a tear away from my good cheek and I bit my lip, contemplating my words. “I wanted to scream so badly, but it felt like he had stolen the breath from my lungs. His breath was awful, it smelled like he was rotting from the inside out. His hands were dirty. I could feel the dirt on my mouth when he covered it. I tried to get away, I started flailing and trying to knock over a trash can or something to attract attention. He punched me then he grabbed me by my hair and smashed my face on the ground. He-,” I paused, taking in another shaky breath. I looked at Inuyasha and he gave me a brave face. He stroked my forearm and gave me a nod, silently offering me the bravery I so desired.   
I looked back at the detective as she scribbled down what I was saying. “He tore my underwear off of me. I tried to get away again and he punched me a few times in the ribs. He shoved his knees in between mine and laid down flat on top of me. He raped me.” I was openly sobbing. I felt like I would shatter into a million pieces if I uttered anything more.  
Inuyasha sighed angrily and looked at the detective with fire in his eyes. “Do we really have to go through the whole thing? She’s traumatized for fuck’s sake!”  
Detective Simone looked at me. “We can stop, Kagome.”  
I shook my head. “No, I want to keep going. Just...give me a second.” I took a deep breath and Inuyasha handed me a tissue to wipe away my tears. “He had his way with me for a while, then he...finished. He stood up, buckled his pants then he was gone. I heard him walk away. I stood up and went home, then asked Inuyasha to take me to the hospital.”  
Detective Simone looked at Inuyasha. “What happened after she came home?”  
Inuyasha sighed again, his expression was sad and guilty. Why did he feel guilty? “She walked through the door and dropped her stuff. When I saw her, I knew something horrible had happened. She was all beaten and bloody.” He looked at me with eyes I could only describe as dejected with heartache. “She was bleeding between her legs, too.” His voice became shaky but he cleared his throat, continuing. “She asked me to take her to the hospital then she fainted. I caught her and ran her here.”   
Detective Simone closed her notepad and gave me another small smile. “Thank you for telling me. I’m going to take your statement that I recorded and we’re going to add it to the investigation. We’re going to do everything in our power to find the man that did this to you. Here is my card.” She handed me a business card and I took it. “Would you like me to go tell the nurse and doctor that you’re ready for the kit?” I nodded and she stood, walking towards the door and leaning her head out. She came back in and moved the chair to the far corner of the room, making space for the healthcare professionals.   
The nurse came in with a cap on her head, a gown on her body, and a mask on her face, with a tray filled with devices. A speculum, long cotton swabs, scissors, a needle and thread, tubes for the evidence. The doctor came in with the same cap, gown, and mask, taking a seat at the end of the bed on a rolling stool another nurse brought in. One nurse placed gloves on the doctor’s outstretched hands as the other nurse made adjustments to my bed. She installed the stirrups and collapsed the foot end of the bed.  
“Kagome, we’re going to begin. Do you have any questions?” Doctor Himoto asked. I shook my head and my feet were placed in the stirrups. My eyes stayed trained on Inuyasha for the majority of the procedure. He gently stroked my forehead, never looking away. I did my best to focus on his amber and honey eyes. They swirled with sadness and anger, a bit of guilt as well. It wasn’t his fault, but I knew he was beating himself up over not being there.   
Doctor Himoto informed me of everything she was doing before she did it, making the experience less unbearable. “Kagome, I’m going to have to place a few stitches. It seems that your vagina has torn. While I’m stitching you up, this woman,” she gestured to the woman with short black hair and wire-rimmed glasses that had just walked in with a camera and a measuring device, “is going to take some pictures of your injuries on your face and abdomen. Is that okay?” I nodded again and the woman walked towards me.  
“Okay, we’re going to start with your cheekbone, keep the position that you’re in now,” the woman gently instructed. She hovered the measuring device above my face, the camera flashing brightly.   
“Kagome, the numbing gel has been applied, so I’m going to start the stitches now,” the doctor informed me.  
“Now we’ll do your nose. Can you look straight at the ceiling, please?” I did as she said and closed my eyes as the flash shone. “I’m going to lift your blanket and gown a bit to get a photo of your ribs, alright?”   
I nodded and looked back at Inuyasha, getting lost in his eyes again. After she was done, she thanked me for my cooperation and dropped the blanket back down, leaving the room quietly.  
The doctor applied the last stitch and stood, pulling her gown and gloves off with one swift motion. She stuffed them in the trash can and pulled off her cap and mask, dropping them in the bin as well. One of the nurses adjusted my bed back to what it was and the other took the evidence samples out of the room.   
“Okay,” she sighed, looking at me as she adjusted my blankets back down on my legs, “that should do it. The stitches will absorb into your skin once you’re healed. You need to come back in a week for x-rays to be sure your ribs are healing, then in three weeks so we can make sure your nose is healing properly and your injury to your cheek bone hasn’t caused any damage to your eye.” She glanced between Inuyasha and I. “I think this goes without saying, but any sexual activity for at least six weeks needs to be avoided. You could tear or cause internal injuries that’ll take a lot more than stitches. I’d like to prescribe you some sleep aides and a medium painkiller, and recommend you see a therapist specializing in sexual assault. You’re going to need to visit your OBGYN in four weeks, and you need to take these now.” She held out a paper cup and I took it, seeing the three pills inside. “They’re HIV, STI and STD prophylactics, and Plan B. Your OBGYN will give you a blood and urine panel as well as a pap smear to be sure there was no exposure to anything infectious as well as no resulting pregnancy. Do you have any questions?”   
I flinched when she said pregnant, immediately knowing I would get an abortion should the morning after pill not work. “When can I go home?” I rasped, needing the comfort of my own home like a little kid needs their blanket.  
“We would like you to stay the night here so we can observe you, make sure there aren’t any injuries that develop. Would you like to hear your options for a therapist nearby? I have a colleague that specializes.” I agreed and she rattled off some names, also explaining the after care for my wounds.   
After she left, Inuyasha said, “What do you need?”  
I sniffled, “Please, hold me, Inuyasha.”  
Without another word he gently picked me up and laid down, lowering me down on top of him. He helped me adjust so I was comfortable, then he stroked my hair and kissed my head as I sobbed.  
“I’m so sorry, Kagome,” he whispered, his voice becoming shaky once again. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there.”  
I looked up at him. “This is not your fault. Do you hear me?” I reached up and gently grabbed his chin, forcing him to look at me with those guilty eyes. “This is nobody’s fault.”


	6. I'll Be Brave For You

The weeks following my incident had been a blur of doctor’s appointments, getting associated with my new therapist, Janye, and resting. A lot of resting. When my family came home from their trip, Inuyasha explained to them what happened, leaving out the specific details. I was up in my room, listening to them talk in the dining room.  
“How could this happen?” my mother sobbed. “This never happens in this area. That’s exactly why we moved here after I had Kagome.”  
“Now, dear, it’s nobody’s fault except for that disgusting excuse of a man,” my grandfather grumbled. “Have you heard from the detective at all?”  
“Yeah, they want her to come in the day after tomorrow to go through her story again. They think they might have the scum, but they’re not sure,” Inuyasha replied, the anger rising in his voice. “They want her to do a fucking line-up.”  
“What’s that?” Sota asked meekly. He hadn’t said anything until now. I was surprised they included him in the conversation.  
“It’s when they get a few people they think did something wrong, then the victim of the crime picks the person that they know did it,” Mom replied, sniffling. A cabinet door opens then shuts. “I don’t understand, how can they expect her to do it now? You said this happened last Thursday?” The refrigerator opened and shut, the sound of a can being popped open and poured.  
“Yeah, they can’t keep the guy for too long. They have him on armed robbery from something different, but his…” I heard Inuyasha growl, “fluids matched to what they found on Kagome. They just need her to back up what he did to her.”   
Mom cried some more, so Grandpa took her to the living room, telling Sota to call his friend, he would have to miss their sleepover that night. Sota came up to my room a bit later with a mug of hot tea, sat on the floor and talked to me about their trip and his first few weeks of school. It was nice, getting to think about something other than the rape.  
Two days later, Mom took me to the police station so I could call the guy out of the line-up. Inuyasha refused to stay home, he wanted to be with me when I picked the guy out. I was almost afraid to let him come, he might tear through the building to rip the guys throat out. Nevertheless, I wanted him there more than I feared for his actions so he sat in the backseat with me of Mom’s car. He held my hand the whole time, letting me squeeze as hard as I could when I felt scared. He made me feel brave, even in my darkest hour.  
“If you get scared,” he murmured to me as we walked to the car, “just squeeze my hand as hard as you want. I’ll be brave for you if you need it,” he opened the door for me, “I don’t think you will, though.”  
“Why do you say that?” I asked, my voice having returned to normal. The doctor said it was normal for my voice to sound funky after a trauma; it felt like a small victory to have one small thing back to normal.   
He looked at me incredulously as I eased myself into the car at the sake of my aching ribs. “You’re the bravest being I’ve ever known. You stare down the face of fear and danger for breakfast.” He slid in beside me, shutting the door behind him. “I know that I could never do what you’re doing. So, that alone tells me that you’re braver than anyone in this world.” He pointed to himself with a silly better knowing expression on his face. “Obviously, I'm the second bravest. So, nobody is taking that title from you.” I giggled and it felt foreign. I hadn’t so much as smiled in days, let alone laughed.   
I felt guilty, I should be in mourning for what was stolen from me, mentally as well as physically. Not giggling at my boyfriend's silly jokes, even if his intention was to make me feel better. Inuyasha looked at me with a pained expression. This has been about as easy for him as it has for me. I noticed then how tired he looked. He had basically been standing guard since we got home from the hospital, rarely sleeping. His hands were always placed on his Tetsuiga when I slept and his eyes always faced the door. It wasn’t like I told him to do it, I practically dragged him into the bed with me in hopes he would sleep. Alas, his eyes never left the door, something that I couldn’t change.   
I placed my hand in his and held it until we got to the station, letting go to get out of the car, only to fetch his hand immediately after. Walking in, I was immediately greeted by Detective Simone and led to a room that contained a little more than two comfortable swivel chairs sitting at a yellow table across from each other. Another detective, I’m assuming her partner, brought in two more plastic chairs for Mom and Inuyasha, placing them on either side of mine.  
“Would any of you like anything to drink? We have a vending machine down the hall, coffee around the corner. Whatever you like,” the male detective offered.  
“Could I have some water, please?” I asked. Inuyasha asked for a lemon-lime soda and Mom asked for a coffee with two sugars. My throat was suddenly unbelievably dry.   
As we waited for the detectives to come back with my case file as well as the drinks I sat in my chair with my legs tucked underneath me, chipping at the polish on my thumbnail. I wore Inuyasha’s Fire Rat, providing me some extra warmth in the cold weather. That wasn’t all, though. I’d basically been living in it. The familiar material laying on my skin made me feel safe, knowing that the owner of the robe wasn’t far away.  
This room was a lavender color with a sea green accent wall, a paper sun taped on the wall in front of me was sagging a bit. There were two filing cabinets in two corners and a binder reading “Trauma Incident Witness Guidelines” sitting upright on the cabinet to my left. I looked out the window at the dreary sky, the green leaves beginning to change color. It was late September, Halloween was in just a month. My favorite holiday, and I couldn’t begin to enjoy it.   
Sota had busied himself with hanging up the decorations around the house a week earlier than we usually did, leaving the tote of my personal ones outside my door and softly knocking then going back downstairs to change out the normal mugs for the spooky ones. He was trying to make me feel a bit better, and I loved him all the more for it. I just wasn’t feeling very celebratory. I decided then that I would hang up my personal decorations when I got home, how I was feeling be damned. This was my favorite holiday, I wouldn’t allow it to be soiled by that horrible excuse of a man. He didn’t get to have that.  
The detectives returned with bottled waters, soda, and coffee as well as my file. “Alright, Kagome. Whenever you’re ready, we’ll start,” Detective Simone informed me, a tape recorder sitting in the middle of the table.   
I squeezed Inuyasha’s hand as I began, unable to look my mother in the eye. As I retold what happened, I would see my mother reacting just within my line of vision. She would place her hand over her heart and squeeze her eyes shut, and take in a deep breath every minute or so like she was holding it. Mostly she held her coffee and stared at it. Eventually she took my other hand and gave me a squeeze. I would tell my story a thousand times if it meant she never had to feel the pain she just felt. When I was finished I felt breathless, but oddly relieved. I felt like this was the beginning to an end.  
Once I was done, they took me down the hall to the line-up. It was lit up bright on our side of the glass, but dark on the other side. I could barely make out their silhouettes, but I counted seven. I hooked one arm around Inuyasha’s and held my mother's hand with the other.   
Detective Simone pushed a speaker button and said, “Okay. Everyone must repeat this line one at a time,” she looked at me and I nodded. “If you make a fucking sound, I’ll slice your throat from ear to ear, bitch.”   
I closed my eyes and took myself back to that time, carefully listening to each man. One through four weren’t even close, five was too high. Six sent a shiver down my spine, my blood turning into ice. That was him. He said it perfectly, just as he had that night.  
“It’s number six,” I announced, Inuyasha’s arm flexing under my hand and a growl beginning in his chest.  
Detective Simone nodded. “Are you sure?” I nodded in response and she clicked the button again. “Numbers one, two, three, four, five, and seven; you’re free to leave.” A police officer entered the room and flicked on the lights, adding a face to the voice. He looked homeless, his hair was long and scraggly, in need of a good wash. His beard was patchy and short, he was dressed in an orange jumpsuit with the name of the holding facility he was held in labeled across the chest and had his hands and feet cuffed. He was looking at the glass. I knew he couldn’t see me, but it almost felt as if he was looking right at me. His eyes were so dark they were almost black, like a demon. He smiled wickedly, his teeth yellow and brown, rotten at the root.  
My body felt as if it was shutting down, the temperature around me bottomed out, my hands feeling colder than they’ve ever felt. I could feel my body begin to shiver, my stomach twisting and my heart racing. I began to hyperventilate, I needed out of that room, right fucking now. My breaths turned to whimpers, which turned to cries, and became sobs. I had only been looking at him for a couple of seconds, Inuyasha then realized in the middle of the side conversation with Simone that the lights were on in the other room.   
“Why did he turn the fucking lights on!” he shouted, grabbing me and turning me away into his chest. He walked me out of that room, his arm around my shoulder, assuring me we were leaving.  
“Wait! We need her to sign the report!” Detective Simone called, I could hear her jogging after us. I stopped, turned around, snatched the clipboard and signed where I needed to.  
“Why did he turn the fucking lights on?” I hissed, angry and scared tears rolling down my cheeks. I knew it wasn’t her fault, I immediately felt guilty placing blame on her at that moment.  
“I’m so sorry for that, Kagome. I had no idea he was going to do that,” she apologized, her face crumbling.   
I swallowed and took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “I’m sorry. I know you didn’t do anything,” I whispered, the tears welling in my eyes. “What happens now?”  
“We can officially press charges against him. He will get a hearing, then the judge will decide if he gets a trial, jail, or bail. He’s been accused before, but he is homeless so it has been hard to track him down until now.” She placed a gentle comforting hand on my shoulder. “You did the right thing turning him in. You’re extremely brave.” She promised to call me as soon as she heard when the hearing would be, and she walked us out.  
Mom walked on my right and Inuyasha held his arm around my shoulder on my left. “Why don’t we order some takeout when we get home? Then we can watch some Halloween movies and I could help decorate your room if you’d like,” Mom offered, a kind smile on her face.  
I nodded. “Sounds nice. Thank you, Momma.” I interlocked my fingers with hers and gave her the biggest smile I could muster, which wasn’t much, but it was a start.


	7. Healing

In the weeks following the assault, I was nothing short of a walking and talking zombie. Mom tried to bond with me over cooking shows and HGTV, but I stayed in my room most of the time. I slept as much as possible, and ate very little. I didn’t want to talk. I didn’t want to get some fresh air. The only other thing I did consistently was shower.  
I showered at least once, sometimes twice a day. I scrubbed my skin until it was red and raw, other times making myself bleed with my vigorous scrubbing. I could still feel his dirty hands, the vomit inducing stench of his breath on my neck. I felt filthy. When you’re filthy, you clean yourself.  
I wasn’t clean. I needed to be clean.  
At a doctor’s appointment I had to check on my injuries, Doctor Himoto noticed my raw skin.  
“How did this happen?” she asked softly, her cool fingers grazing a rough and raw patch of skin on my chest above my breast.  
I pulled away from her, adjusting my sweater to cover the wound. “Nothing.”  
She looked at me, concern evident in her gaze. “You and I both know that’s not true.”  
“Why does it matter?” I snapped.  
“Because if you’re hurting yourself, I am under legal obligation to admit you to one of our Mental Health Institutes. I don’t think you want that.”  
I tore my eyes away from hers, so kind and inviting. I felt the pull in my gut to trust her, but it was hard to even think about it. I knew she wanted to help.  
“You can tell me anything, Kagome. I’m not here to judge. I’m only here to help you,” she assured me, sitting on the rolling stool with the cracked leather seat and squeaky wheels a few feet away from where I sat.  
I looked over at her, feeling the words bubble inside of me. “I-I’m not clean,” I stuttered, struggling to find the right words. I swallowed. “I have to scrub or else I’ll never be clean.” My lower lip trembled and I ducked my head, bringing my knees into my chest and holding them tightly. The tears fell from my cheeks and stained my sweatpants before I could rub them away.  
“I think you should see that therapist we talked about a few weeks ago,” she murmured, placing a tissue box next to me. “It could do you some good.”  
I sat in Janye’s office just a couple of days later on her big comfy couch, feeling as though it was going to swallow me up with the sheer size and plush cushions. I looked at her, unsure of where to begin.  
She looked back at me, her bright hazel eyes peeking over her blue framed glasses. She wore a comfortable looking sea green shawl with a beige tank top underneath, black leggings and pink fuzzy socks adorning her feet. She encouraged me as soon as I walked in to kick my shoes off, grab a plushie, and get comfortable. She had at least a dozen teddy bears, stuffed cactus plushies, and an array of colorful throw blankets in a wicker basket on the other side of the room. She sat in her chair with her legs crossed underneath her, a pad of paper and a pen with a dancing flamingo and bright pink feathers on the other end in her lap.  
“What do you want to get out of our sessions together?” she asked, her voice steady and low. The wick of the candle that smelled of sugar cookies flickered on the table beside her chair. I tore my eyes away from the distracting dance, attempting to pull the cotton from my head.  
I blinked, pressing my fingers into the cactus plushie with the rosy cheeks and bright eyes in my lap. “Uh, I don’t really know. I just…” I took a breath. “...I don’t want to feel this way anymore.”  
“Feel what way?” she asked as she scribbled across the paper in her lap.  
I shrugged. “Lost? Hopeless? Confused? I’m not totally sure what I’m feeling. I just know it’s bad.” I calculated my words meticulously, knowing if I said the wrong thing I was going to the Looney Bin.  
“Is that how you feel, or is that how others have told you that’s what you’re feeling? Because you don’t sound convinced,” she commented, pushing her glasses up her nose.  
“Nobody has told me what to feel,” I defended, feeling my walls start to go up already. “I just don’t know what I feel yet, okay?” I held the cactus tightly to my chest, averting my gaze to the fluffy midnight blue carpet.  
“You don’t have to know, yet. That’s why I’m here. But,” she leaned forward a bit. “I need to know if you want to feel different at the end of this. If not, I can sit here and tell you how to maintain, but I can’t imagine that’s going to do you any good. I can’t promise you a quick fix. Hell, I can’t even promise that you’ll feel better at the end of every session.” She leaned back and gave me a kind smile. “I can assure you that I’m going to do my best to help you cope, feel better maybe. But, you have to let me do it.”  
I looked back up at her, feeling like someone was looking at me. Not at my trauma, not at what I’ve done right or wrong. She was looking at me, her sparkly purple eyeshadow and orange lipstick pointed at me. Janye watched me expectantly, so I gave her a single nod, dropping my hands down on my lap.  
She placed her pen back on the paper. “Okay. Let’s begin.”  
-  
“Kagome, wake up.”  
I groaned at the voice intruding on my peaceful sleep, rubbing my face against the pillow. “Go back to sleep, Inuyasha.”  
He poked me. “Come on, I’ve got something cool to show you.” He pulled the blankets off of me, exposing my bare legs to the cold atmosphere.  
I gasped, “You monster!” I felt fabric land on my feet and I cracked my eyes open, glancing down at the foot of the bed. In the somewhat lighter room, I could see he threw some leggings at me, telling me to put them on.  
“Don’t forget your shoes,” he reminded me, placing my sneakers on the floor beside my bed with a pair of fresh socks. “I’ll be downstairs, we leave in five.” He left the room quietly, closing the bedroom door behind him.  
I looked at the clock, groaning at the time. “It’s six o’clock on a Sunday!” I begrudgingly shoved my legs into the pants, wrapping Inuyasha’s Fire Rat tighter around me for warmth. I sat on the edge of the bed and glanced out the window. The world was becoming just a little brighter, I could see Mom’s car sitting off to the side of the well house and the outline of the trees behind it. I placed the socks on my now cold feet and shoved them into my shoes, standing and walking to the bathroom to brush my teeth.  
Walking down the stairs, I could hear Mom and Inuyasha talking. I paused halfway down, listening intently.  
“I just don’t know if she’s going to get any better staying in bed all of the time. She goes to school and therapy, that’s it. She hasn’t seen any of her friends since we got back. I’m worried about her. I haven’t been this worried about her since we got separated,” Inuyasha spoke quietly, sadness and mild frustration dripping from his voice.  
I heard a clunk as what sounded like a plate or a mug hit the dining room table, Mom sighed as she settled into a chair. “Try not to push her, she will come to at some point. She’s been through a lot. I think what you’re doing is wonderful. I think she will look back on your efforts and be thankful.” Her fingernails tapped against the ceramic. “But, I fear that pushing her too hard too fast will do damage to your relationship that can’t be fixed with time.”  
I decided I was finished listening and noisily made my way down the rest of the stairs. Mom was sitting at one end of the table while Inuyasha sat at the other, a cat-shaped mug of coffee steaming in her hands and a plate of eggs and toast sat in front of her. Inuyasha opted for coffee lightened with a bit of cream and a spoonful of sugar in a normal black mug, a new favorite of his.   
She looked up at me and smiled. “Good morning, Kagome. How did you sleep?”  
I nodded, a gentle smile playing on my lips. “Good, how about you?”  
She smiled wider, standing and heading to the kitchen. “Just fine. Sit down, I’ll make you some eggs and coffee before I head to work.”  
“I got it, Mama,” Inuyasha volunteered, steering her back to her seat. She looked up at him gratefully, patting his hand on her shoulder and sitting back down.  
Inuyasha had taken to calling her Mama not too long ago, their relationship growing further than what it was before. I often heard them talking early in the morning and later in the evening, sitting and watching TV together most of the time.   
I remember the conversation vividly, my head resting on Inuyasha’s thigh while we watched a cooking show. I believe they assumed I was asleep, carrying on a different conversation in hushed tones.  
Inuyasha stroked my hair as they spoke, almost lulling me entirely. “Thanks for letting me come stay. I don’t think I’ve said it before, but I appreciate it.”  
“Don’t be silly, we love having you here. Especially Kagome.” They paused for a moment, letting the words hang in the air. “She was a wreck, Inuyasha. As soon as you were gone, part of her left, too. It wasn’t your fault, I know.” Her voice was small and quiet, as if fearful that her admission would sting if she spoke them too loudly. She took in a shaky breath. “But I wanted so badly to blame you. She was so...heartbroken for so long. I had convinced myself it was your fault. And I’m sorry for that. It wasn’t until a few months before you two found each other again did she tell me what happened.” I felt her warm fingers graze the shell of my ear, then pull away. “She loves you, you know. And I can see that you love her too.”  
Inuyasha paused his ministrations, his heart beginning to thud in his chest. “Ms. Higurashi-” he stuttered.  
“Inuyasha, please. You don’t have to do that. I can tell love when I see it. And, seeing how you’ve been with her since the assault…” she took in another shaky breath. “...you’ve been patient, and kind. Two things I wasn’t sure for a while that you could be. This shows me that you can be that and more. Also,” she adjusted herself on the couch. “You don’t have to call me Ms. Higurashi.”  
“Well, what do you want me to call ya?” Inuyasha asked.  
It was silent for a moment, until I heard Mom click her tongue. I could only imagine she was smiling when she said this. “Call me Mama.”  
Inuyasha sucked in a breath and I felt him tremble for a moment. I could tell he was mulling it over in his head. He was probably thinking he would be betraying his own mother. The first woman that showed him love, the person he once called Mama. I could practically feel the anxiety rising, so I chose then to nuzzle my head against his thigh, offering what comfort I could without blowing my cover. He began to stroke my hair again, then he swallowed.  
“I’m sorry, darling. I didn’t mean-”  
“No,” he interrupted quietly. “Mama is good.”  
As I sat at the table with Mom and listened to Inuyasha pour my coffee and make my eggs, I chose then to ask why I was up so early.  
“It’s a surprise,” Inuyasha answered, pulling a plate out of the cabinet and sliding my eggs onto it. He walked back into the dining room, placing my plate in front of me with my coffee made just the way I liked it.   
I offered a silent thank-you and took a drink of the steaming pink mug in front of me. “I don’t like surprises.”  
“Well, too bad,” he answered casually, stealing a bite of my eggs from my plate. “Eat.”  
I sighed and did as he said, very gradually coming to the end of my food. This had been the most I’d eaten since coming home from the hospital, and I knew it gave Mom great joy when I ate.  
She downed the rest of her coffee and stood. “Well, it’s off to work for me. Kagome, if you could, there’s a duck in the refrigerator that needs to be prepared and thrown in the oven for an hour or so. Could you do that a bit later?”  
“Sure, Mom. Any side preferences?” I asked. I’d been doing my best lately to get back into the swing of things at home. Doing the dishes, vacuuming, making dinner. It gave Mom hope, so I did whatever I could despite how I was feeling that day. I would take the worst days head on if that meant she didn’t have to be so worried all of the time.  
“Oh, just whatever we’ve got. I’ll be home by six.” She kissed me on the cheek then moved to Inuyasha, tweaking one of his ears and placing a kiss between them. “Have a great day!” she called as she gathered her coat and purse, leaving out the front door for her shift at the nursing home.  
I placed my empty plate and mug in the sink, stifling a yawn. “Alright, you’ve gotten me out of bed. What now?”  
He grasped my hand in his and led me back upstairs, ignoring my insistent questions. “Quit yapping, can you just wait and see?”  
I huffed as he opened the door to my bedroom, walking over to the window and opening it. He placed his foot on the windowsill and pulled himself up into a squatting position. He turned his body and placed the top half of himself out the window and pulled himself up onto the roof. I walked to the window and poked my head out, looking up at him.  
“Here, give me your hands,” he ordered, reaching down to me.   
I huffed again but did as he said, sliding my hands through his and squeaking in surprise when he pulled me out of the window and up on the roof. He held me in his arms for a moment, steadying me.  
“Damn, you’ve lost a lot of weight already,” he commented. He felt my hip bones through my leggings and frowned, concern clouding his eyes. “Kagome, you gotta start-”  
“I thought you were showing me something,” I interrupted, forcing him to look at me.  
He glanced at me, a question burning in his eyes, but simply nodded. He led me with steady hands to the highest point on the roof, sitting down then pulling me down between his legs.  
I looked around, confused. The air was getting more and more chilly as the days went on, goosebumps rose on my arms and I rubbed them away. As if on instinct, Inuyasha wrapped his arms around me, his warmth cocooning me instantly. “What am I looking at?” I asked as I looked around.   
He pointed directly in front of us. The sun was beginning to peak over the horizon, splashing fuschia, magenta, and sunrise orange across the sky. The clouds were becoming white and fluffy, making the scenery that much more like something you’d see in a painting. Inuyasha kept an arm around my waist and placed the other behind him for leverage, watching with me as the sun rose over the edges of the cityscape. The buildings looked even more boxy and sharp than they were before, becoming a dark contrast to the bright brilliance before us.  
“I come out here every morning and watch it,” Inuyasha admitted, drumming his nails against my thigh. “My mother used to get me up almost every morning so we could watch it together. We’d watch it set, too. I stopped after she died for a long time, but I started again a few years ago.”  
“Why’d you start again?” I asked, completely in a daze with the sheer beauty of nature taking place before our very eyes.  
He paused, pondering his words. “Someone made me realize that just because something bad happens, don’t mean I can’t still enjoy the small things in life.” His voice was quiet, almost like he was telling an embarrassing secret.  
I swallowed, feeling the bitter seed of jealousy plant itself inside of me. “Who was it?” I asked icily. “Was it Kikyo?”  
He sucked his teeth, jostling me a bit with his leg. “No, stupid.” He became silent, I could practically hear the gears turning in his head. “It was you, Kagome.”  
I looked back at him, my mouth slightly agape at his words. He placed his hand on my cheek, simultaneously brushing away a strand of hair from my face. “It’s always been you,” he uttered before tenderly placing his lips on mine.


	8. Acknowledgement

“Make sure you’re printing these correctly. One bad sutra could spoil the whole bunch!”  
“I know, Grandpa,” I droned, carefully avoiding smearing the wet ink with a careless hand. “I’ve been making these for years. I think I’ve almost got it down by now. Helping Miroku and Kaede make them all the time gave me good practice.”  
Grandpa nodded as he read from his book of protection charms, making notes in a separate notebook beside him. “How has school been?”  
I smiled a bit, finally feeling accomplished about where I was in my studies. “It’s been really great. With so few distractions it’s been a lot easier to get ahead. I actually made the Dean’s List this month.”  
He looked up at me above his glasses, a proud smile on his face. “That’s wonderful, Kagome! Keep up the good work.”  
We continued silently with our task, the rain outside pelting heavily on the roof above us. Inuyasha was outside cutting firewood. I tried to encourage him to come inside out of the rain, but he refused.  
“Just being near those damn sutras makes me dizzy, especially when you write them. I’ll come in when I’m done,” he decided, arcing the axe over his head then down to split the wood in front of him.  
“That boy sure knows how to work,” Grandpa commented as he glanced out the window, licking his index finger and turning the page in his book.  
“He was like this when we were in the feudal era, too,” I replied, feeling a sense of pride wash over me. “Always doing something useful; cutting firewood, hunting, gathering water, helping the villagers build huts and sheds. It’s one of his best traits.”  
“He seems to be...very helpful during this time with you,” Grandpa stated, adjusting his glasses and sipping his tea. “I’m grateful to see such a change in him for your sake.”  
“Well, he’s always been a caring and gentle person. He just didn’t show it around others,” I gently corrected, finishing the sutra in front of me.   
Grandpa and I never talked about the assault. It was an unspoken promise between us that he wouldn’t make me relive it more than I already did, and I wouldn’t make him hear the details. I liked it a whole lot better than Sota asking if my injuries are fully healed, or Mom wondering how my mental state is. With Grandpa, I don’t have to think about it.   
I placed the sutra on the drying rack beside me, pulling one of my last slips of paper from the dwindling stack of blank ones.  
“I find that hard to believe, but whatever you say,” he sighed.  
Grandpa had a hard time believing Inuyasha was a genuinely good person. All of what we went through those years ago put a bad taste in his mouth. Coming home dirty and bruised, haven’t slept in a couple of days, haven’t eaten or drank anything. I understood why he was hesitant to trust my claims.  
I wanted to prove it to him, make him see Inuyasha the same way I did. Alas, I accepted their relationship needed time to form and heal, let the chips fall where they may, or whatever.  
“Alright, all done,” I announced, sliding the last sutra on the top of the drying rack. “I’ve got a test on Wednesday I need to study for. Need anymore help, Grandpa?”  
He shook his head, waving me away with his hand. “No, I’ve got the rest.” I stood, pushing my chair in and rounding the corner to the stairs. “Kagome?” I peeked back around the corner, looking at Grandpa with question. He looked at me, his expression twisted with a tinge of guilt. “I hope you don’t think I dislike him.” I blinked, surprised. This was news to me. He heaved a sigh, taking his glasses off and running a hand over his wrinkled face. “He’s been good to you, I just don’t know him that well. I need time.”  
I only nodded, shooting him a grateful smile. “That’s all I ask.”  
In the days leading up to my court date, I was restless. Feeling as if I would go off the rails if I didn’t have anything to occupy my mind. It was in that time that the nightmares that plagued me nightly reached their peak.   
I would dream of the assault, him finding me and hurting me again. Killing me, even. All with that disgusting, sadistic face-splitting grin.  
“You won’t get away from me now,” he whispered, trailing the knife in his hand down my cheek. He had me pinned against my bed, his knees forced my legs apart and his erection was pushed painfully into my stomach. “I’ll take you again, then I’ll do as I promised.” He leaned in closely, his acrid breath fanning over my face as he licked my lower lip. I whimpered tearfully, trying to wrench my wrists free of his iron grip. “If you make a fucking sound, I’ll slice your throat ear to ear, bitch.”  
“Kagome, stop! Stop screaming! Ow! Fuck, it’s me, baby! Open your eyes!”  
I breathed heavily, the scream having ripped through my throat had taken all of the air in my lungs. My eyes wrenched themselves open, finding amber staring back at me. I used the moment of clarity to take in my hazy surroundings. Inuyasha was straddling my hips, his hands were firmly holding my wrists down on either side of my head. Three thin scratches were dashed across his right cheek, one of them bled lightly.  
“Oh, God,” I whispered hoarsely as he let go of my wrists. I ghosted a finger over his cheek, pulling it back when he winced. “Did I do that?” Tears blurred my vision as a sob tore through my throat, my hands covering my mouth to stifle the sound.  
Inuyasha was on it in a second. He jumped off the bed, picked me up, and sat on the floor with my shaking frame in his lap. He held me tightly, one arm wrapped around my shoulders holding me to his chest while the other cradled my head in his hand. My legs hung limply over his thigh and my arms were wrapped around his waist. He leaned his cheek against my forehead, his claws scratching soothing patterns into my scalp as he gently rocked me.  
“Shhh, it’s okay, Gome. It’s over,” he cooed, placing a gentle kiss to the top of my head. “He’s not gonna get you.”  
He stayed on the floor with me until my tears dried up, only moving to place me back on the bed to grab a tissue from the box on my desk. I took the tissue from his offering hand, wiping my tears and blowing my nose as he sat beside me.  
We didn’t have to say anything. He scooted back to his place on the bed and opened his arms, allowing me to take my place enveloped in his warmth after I threw away my tissue. With my head on his chest and my leg hitched on his hip, he trailed his nails up and down my back under his Fire Rat, a soothing rumble emitting from his torso gently lulling me back to sleep.   
I was almost carried away back to The Land of Sleep when I heard him whisper, “I love you, Kagome. I won’t let him break you.”  
In the present, I was getting ready for court. My friend Akiri’s father offered to represent me after we found out my rapist would get a hearing. He offered to represent me for free, a big fear lifted off our shoulders.  
“Oh, Girero, we can’t just let you do this for nothing. Why don’t I make you some baked goods during the trial? Fresh cookies, muffins, cakes, pies, whatever you like!” Mom offered, smiling widely at his kindness. We sat at the dining room table, Mom, Inuyasha, Girero, Akiri and Grandpa. Sota was at basketball practice and was due home in an hour.  
“Oh, Mimi, who am I to say no to any of your baking? That sounds like a fine deal to me,” Girero replied eagerly, patting his stomach and wincing a bit. “Although, my wife may have to let out my pants at the end of this.”  
I chuckled a bit, Girero was a very thin man. Akiri took after him, lanky and ram rod skinny from elementary school to now.   
“Dad, you couldn’t gain weight if you tried,” Akiri rolled her eyes and chuckled beside me, her arm looped through mine.   
We had become close again after I called her. She came right over and we sat there and talked for hours; about college, boys, why did Inuyasha always wear a hat. It was strange telling her why, but she was surprisingly cool with it. I then told her all about Miroku, Sango, Kaede, and Shippo. I held Shippo’s spinning top in my hand as I told her, feeling the hole deepen in my chest with missing them.  
“So, that’s why you were missing so much school all of the time?” she asked.  
I nodded. “Yeah. It was important for me to maintain a life there as well as the one I had here. I had a duty and I needed to see it through. Besides, I made some of the best friends I’ve ever had while I was there. It was worth missing some school.”  
“You also have Inuyasha,” she giggled, poking my side.  
My cheeks flushed but I didn’t try to hide the smile on my face. “He’s been wonderful, Akiri. A completely different person compared to before.” I picked at the frayed edge of my jeans, remembering our times together fondly. “I miss some things, weirdly enough. We fought all of the time and we called each other terrible things, but the making up was my favorite part. Usually I would go find him and sit next to him, offer whatever snacks or candy I had in my bag as a peace offering. Afterwards, we’d sit and talk for hours about everything. Those conversations were the best we’ve ever had, and I miss them.”  
“You guys still talk, don’t you?”  
“Well, yeah. Of course we do. But, it’s different when you’re sitting by a stream and watching the stars, or watching a fire crackle while you debate the ins and outs of the world. Different circumstances, I guess,” I admitted, leaning back on my headboard and scratching the old polish off of my fingernails. I didn’t want her to think we had nothing outside of a relationship. Inuyasha was also my best friend. I told him everything, went to him for comfort, asked his advice, etc.  
“Anywho,” Girero continued, becoming serious. “We need to talk about what is going to happen during the trial.” Inuyasha squeezed my hand under the table and I squeezed back. “Lucky for you, this bozo is being represented by a freshly graduated law student. They typically don’t know their mouth from their elbow, so I strongly believe this should be wrapped up in less than a day. With all the DNA they have collected, this should be an open and shut case, no problems there.”  
“So, we don’t really have anything to worry about?” Inuyasha asked.  
“Not by my opinion or experience. I’ve dealt with cases similar to yours and I have a one hundred percent success rate with them.” Girero looked at me. “I can honestly say I have no doubts this man will go away for a very long time.”  
As I buttoned my soft pink shirt and adjusted my black tights, a knock sounded on my door. “Come in,” I called softly, smoothing my grey skirt and running a brush through my hair one more time. Inuyasha walked in and I gasped, my brush falling from my fingers and landing with a thud on the floor. He was dressed in a black suit and white button down, his hair pulled back in a high ponytail to cover his ears. Mom definitely did that. He wore black dress shoes and he held a navy blue tie in his hand, looking confused about how to work it. “Why did you knock, silly?” I asked, standing and walking to him.  
“I didn’t wanna scare you,” he admitted, looking at my outfit. “You look nice, Kagome.”  
I took the tie from his hands and flipped the collar of his button-up. “Thank you. You look very handsome. I could get used to this,” I joked as I tied his tie for him.   
I had been feeling better and better as the days went on. I didn’t feel quite like myself, but I was getting somewhere thanks to Janye. She was a big help in realizing it was never my fault, there was very little I could’ve done without being killed or being hurt even more severely than I was. Therapy was hard, especially when there were days I didn’t want to talk about anything. Janye understood, beginning the session with conversation similar to girlfriends sitting down for coffee, then moving into the deeper stuff when our toes were nice and immersed.  
Halloween was in two days and I felt it with every fiber of my being. The entire house was decorated, even the bathroom, and it gave me a little pep in my step. Mom, Grandpa, and Sota were going to Mom’s work Halloween party, so Inuyasha and I had the house to ourselves. We were going to order pizza, make halloween cookies, watch scary movies and hand out candy.  
Inuyasha chuckled. “Yeah, probably don’t.” I straightened his tie and smiled triumphantly, planting a kiss on his cheek. He smiled. “Well, I guess I can make an exception for you.”  
“I’ll let it go if you dress up for Halloween,” I replied, giving him the best puppy eyes I could muster.  
He sighed. “I’ll wear my Fire Rat if you wear those kitten pajamas you got.” I bought these adult footie pajamas that made me look like a cat, right down to the slippers that looked like kitty paws and hood adorned with cat ears.  
I stuck out my hand, “I’d say you have a deal, mister.” He took my hand and placed a gentle kiss on my knuckles. My heart swelled, my love for him growing even more since that fateful day. He has been so patient and kind, helping me bathe when I got home from the hospital, holding me when I woke screaming from a nightmare, staying up and talking to me about everything in the world when I couldn’t go back to sleep. I pulled his hand. “Lets go, we don’t want to be late.” We trotted down the stairs where Mom was putting on her coat and Sota and Grandpa were waiting to see us out.  
“I’ll go start the car, don’t forget your coats,” Mom called, walking out the door with her keys and purse.   
Grandpa wrapped me in a hug. “Everything will be fine, girl. You just have to believe.” I nodded and he kissed my cheek, letting me go.   
Sota wrapped me in a hug also, but said nothing. I knew what he wanted to say.


	9. Justice

“All rise for Judge Sato,” the bailiff called. I stood and watched as the judge took his seat.  
“Please sit,” he instructed. We did as he said and he placed readers on his face, shuffling some papers. “Okay, case number three-nine-five-two, what are the charges?”  
The woman at the closest end of the jury stood. “Three counts of robbery, four counts of rape, one count of attempted rape, and one count of sodomy.”  
The judge looked at the man that sat less than ten feet to my left over his glasses. “And how do you plead?”  
The man stood with his lawyer, a man that looked not much older than me. “Not guilty, Your Honour,” he gruffed.  
The judge nodded. “Let us proceed. Mr. Rendiso, you have the floor.”  
The man’s lawyer, Mr. Rendiso, stood. “I call Kagome Higurashi to the stand.”  
Girero tapped my shoulder. “Just go up to the stand and sit down, they’ll swear you in. Just be honest and this should go fine.”   
I nodded and stood with shaky legs. I walked to the stand and stepped up, willing my nerves to calm.   
The bailiff walked in front of me and stood. “Please raise your right hand." I did as he said and he continued, “Do you, Kagome Higurashi swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you God?”  
“I do.” I tried to sound strong but it sounded strangled. I cleared my throat and was told to sit down. I sat and folded my hands in my lap, waiting for Mr. Rendiso to come up to me.  
“Miss Higurashi, can you tell us what happened on the evening of September twenty-second?” he asked. I told him my story as I had the past two times, the words almost falling with ease out of my mouth. Mr. Rendiso looked barely a few years older than me, he had a round face and a cocky smirk. He looked at me, feigning curiosity with hands clasped together in front of him. “What were you doing out so late?”  
I stiffened but tried not to show it. Don’t show him how this affects you. “I’d like to point out that it was barely six o’clock, but I was going to a friend’s apartment to feed her cat. She and her mother were out of town until the next day and I offered to go feed her while they were gone.”  
“And you didn’t think to bring protection? A knife, maybe? Pepper spray?”  
I blinked. “No, I didn’t. Her apartment is only three blocks from my house.”   
“Didn’t you say your boyfriend was waiting at home for you?” he asked, seeming to be going somewhere.  
I looked at Inuyasha, his eyes were shooting daggers at the lawyer in front of me. “Yes, he was. We had just gotten done eating dinner when I remembered I had to go feed Kimchi. It took me less than an hour to get there, feed her, play for a minute, then almost home.”  
“Why didn’t you bring him with you?” He glanced at Inuyasha who had a killer stare etched permanently into his features and back at me. “He seems like a pretty tough guy. He would have protected you.”  
My nostrils flared with frustration. “Because we haven’t had something like this happen in my neighborhood ever. I’ve been walking everywhere since I was fourteen, I’ve never had any issues.”  
“So, you assumed you were safe based off of a hunch?” he asked, mocking shock.   
Inuyasha looked like he was ready to pounce. He gripped the barrier between the crowd and mine and Girero’s seats. I looked at Mom then back at Inuyasha. She looked at him and placed a hand on top of his. He glanced at her and took a breath, looking back at me. Anger was still present, but it had subsided a bit.  
I looked back at Mr. Rendiso. “You could say that. With no evidence to back up any crime happening in my neighborhood outside of a stolen bike or two, I believed I was safe.” I looked at the man that raped me, vengeance coursing through my veins. “I was wrong.” He gave me a bone-chilling smirk, and I shivered.  
“No further questions, your honour.”  
Girero stood, buttoning his jacket. “Miss Higurashi, can you tell me what kind of injuries you sustained during this brutal attack?”  
I nodded. “Four of my ribs were fractured, as well as my cheekbone. My nose was broken, I experienced tearing in my…” I took a breath. “vaginal area. Lots of scrapes and bruises.”  
“Did you engage in any sexual contact previous to the assault?”  
The question startled me and I stared at him. I glanced at Inuyasha and his cheeks were a deep crimson, avoiding looking at my mother beside him. “No, why?”  
Girero pulled a folder off of the desk and opened it. “It says here upon the retrieval of your testimony, you hadn’t taken part in sexual actions before the rape. So, we can safely assume that there was no sexual activity between you and your boyfriend between going to your friends house and being raped?”  
“Yes, you can safely assume,” I answered, relaxing a bit.  
He pulled a projector and a screen out from the back of the room, turning it on and showing a photo of my angry red cheek bone. “These are the photos taken of Miss Higurashi’s injuries. As you can tell, these required quite a bit of force. Didn’t you say he bashed your head on the ground?” He flipped to the picture of my swollen and purple nose.  
“Yes, that was how he broke my nose.”  
He zoomed in on my nose, you could see very small particles of dirt and rocks embedded in my clotting wound. “As you can see, there is dirt and rocks embedded in the wound on her nose. We had it tested against the dirt in the alley Miss Higurashi was attacked in. It was a positive match. The DNA found in Miss Higurashi’s vagina also matched Naozumi Gongetzu’s DNA. A one hundred percent match, to be exact.” He turned off the projector and handed the remote to an assistant. He looked in my eyes, understanding and empathy swirling within his. “Miss Higurashi, can you tell me what he said to you when he pulled you into the alley?”  
I gulped and fisted my hands, pulling in a deep breath as I repeated the phrase for what felt like the thousandth time. “He said, ‘If you make a fucking sound, I’ll slit your throat ear to ear, bitch.’ I also positively identified his voice in the line-up.”  
“And, can you point out the man that raped you?”  
I nodded and pointed to Naozumi. “Him. He’s the one that raped me.”  
“Let the record show that Miss Higurashi has made a positive identification of her rapist. Thank you, Miss Higurashi. No further questions, Your Honour.”  
“You may be seated, Miss Higurashi,” the judge said, shuffling his papers once again. “Mr. Rendiso, you have the floor again.” I went back to my seat, watching Inuyasha the whole time. He watched me with a hopeful gaze.  
“I call Naozumi Gongetzu to the stand, Your Honour.” Naozumi stood, his wrists and feet still cuffed. He walked to the stand and did the same spiel as I did, but once he sat down, he looked right at me. I did my best to stay strong, not wavering at his gaze. He smirked again then looked at Mr. Rendiso. “Mr. Gongetzu, what were you doing on the night of September twenty-second?”  
“I was sitting in the alley, waiting for the day to pass. It had gotten dark so I got up to get somewhere warm when she walked past the alley. I knew at that moment I had to have her. I pulled her in and started havin’ sex with her,” he claimed.  
Rage bubbled inside of me, threatening to boil over with an enraged cry as I charged toward him, ready to kill.  
“Mr. Gongetzu, are you telling us this was consensual?” Mr. Rendiso asked. Even he seemed a bit shocked, but he was doing a good job at trying to hide it. The flash in his eyes gave it away before he continued.  
Naozumi nodded. “She never said no. Never made a peep.”  
“Did she make any previous advances?”  
“Nope, but I knew the minute I saw her she wanted me. In that short little dress. Waiting for me to come out and take her,” he replied, smiling.   
I heard Inuyasha growl behind me. I reached my hand back and he took it, squeezing almost too tight. He was just as angry as I was, and I knew if Naozumi said one more thing out of line, he was going to pounce and I wouldn’t be able to stop him.  
“Can you tell us how she received the injuries on her face and ribs?” Mr. Rendiso asked, seemingly curious.  
“She wanted it hard, y’know? Wanted me to slap her around. I could tell she was into it,” Naozumi drawled.  
“No further questions, Your Honour,” Mr. Rendiso said, retreating back to his table and running a hand through his hair. He knew as well as everyone else did that Naozumi was done for.  
Girero stood and walked to the stand. “Mr. Gongetzu, did Miss Higurashi ever say yes to having sex with you?”  
“Nah, but I could tell she wanted it. She tried to get away a couple of times but I fixed that.”  
“So, you can confirm she never said yes? Even tried to get away from you?” Girero asked, puzzled by his logic.  
“Yes, I-I can confirm.” Naozumi seemed to be losing his previous confidence as he looked around the courtroom. Everyone was staring at him with either disgust, anger, or confusion.  
“If someone tries to get away from you during intercourse, doesn’t that mean they don’t wish to have intercourse?”  
Mr. Rendiso stood and sputtered, “Objection; speculation!”  
The judge looked at him with a “seriously?” look on his face. “I’ll allow it. Please continue, Mr. Pander.”  
Girero nodded. “Miss Higurashi claims you said something to her when you pulled her into that alley.” He cleared his throat. “She claims you said, ‘If you make a fucking sound, I’ll slit your throat ear to ear, bitch.’ Did you infact say that?”  
Naozumi swallowed, looking around the room but not answering.  
Girero placed a hand on the bench in front of Naozumi. “Please remember, Mr. Gongetzu. You are under oath.” His voice was unbelievably calm and even, he knew we had this case in the bag. He was giving Naozumi a chance to incriminate himself further.  
Naozumi fiddled with his hands, looking down. “Y-Yes, I did say that.”  
The juror from before stood. “Your honour, we believe as a jury we have enough evidence to make a decision.” I checked my watch, it had only been an hour! My heart pounded with excitement.  
Judge Sato replied, “Yes, we will reconvene in ten minutes.” He pounded his gavel and stepped down from his bench and waltzed directly into a room with his name on the plate. I let out a breath and turned around to Mom and Inuyasha.  
“What does this mean?” Inuyasha asked, his hands finding mine.  
Girero blinked. “Well, I’ve never had a case wrap so fast before. In ten minutes the jury will come back out with a verdict and the judge will sentence him.”   
Mom sniffled, smiling big. I looked around and found Detective Simone and Janye sitting in the back row, conversing quietly.   
I had asked both of them to come to the trial, but hadn’t expected Janye to be there.  
“Well, this could be in violation of our Doctor-Patient relationship. I would really hate to put that in jeopardy,” Janye informed me gently.  
My face fell for a moment, but I recovered. “Oh, it’s fine! Inuyasha and my mom will be there. No pressure, Janye.”   
She looked thoughtful for a moment, her eyes flickering with uncertainty. “I’ll think about it, okay?”   
Detective Simone was different. She was more than happy to agree to come.   
“Of course I will, Kagome. Whatever you need, let me know. I hope this works in your favor.” This was the first time I’d spoken with her over the phone since the lineup.  
“I just wanted to say I’m really sorry about what happened at the precinct. It wasn’t fair to place all that blame on you. It wasn’t your fault,” I apologized, realizing then how guilty I’d been feeling.  
“Kagome, please. Don’t apologize. It was my job to keep you safe. We’ll call it even, okay? I’ll see you at court.”  
It felt as if it had been less than a minute, but the bailiff called for us to rise again. The judge sat and the jury filed back in, standing as well.  
“Do you have your verdict?” the judge asked.  
The head juror replied, “We do, Your Honour.” In that millisecond, it felt like the world stopped turning. Everything was deafeningly silent, words hanging around us like the seconds leading up to a lightning strike in a thunderstorm. The anticipation was making my palms feel cold and sweaty. I only came back to the present when I felt Mom squeeze my hand. “We find the defendant, Naozumi Gongetzu, guilty on all counts.”   
Everything slowed down. It was like watching a slow motion clock hand finally hitting the twelve on New years Eve. I felt the buzz of excitement in the air, the fog finally rose and let the light in. My ears felt as if they were stuffed with cotton, the sounds around me seeming muffled as my emotions caught up with me.  
Judge Sato nodded and said, “I second your verdict.” He looked at Naozumi, disgust prominent on his wrinkled face. “You, sir, are a sorry excuse of a human being. You will be sentenced to life without chance of parole for your crimes. You will be held at the maximum security prison in Hiroshima, and I believe we would all sleep better at night if you were never to see the light of day again. Miss Higurashi.” I looked up at the judge and he smiled at me. “I congratulate you on your victory. Court is adjourned.” He banged his gavel and I began to weep again.   
I was elated, Cloud Nine wasn’t high enough for me. Inuyasha picked me up over the barrier and held me tightly, surprised gasps of laughter leaving his mouth. My feet didn’t touch the ground for a while, we just held each other with a tornado of swirling happiness between us.  
I felt a hand on my back and turned my head as Inuyasha put me down. Girero was smiling brightly. “Congratulations, Kagome. I’m so happy for you. You were amazing up there, so strong and brave.”  
I shook his hand. “Thank you so much, Girero. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you.”  
“Come on, we need to run home and get Grandpa and Sota. We’re going out and celebrating! We’d be elated if your family would join us, Girero!” Mom exclaimed, wiping happy tears from her cheeks.  
“NO! THIS IS BULLSHIT! SHE WANTED TO FUCK ME!” Naozumi screamed as he was dragged away by police. He kicked and thrashed, almost getting away. “YOU FUCKING BITCH! I’LL GET YOU! EVEN IF IT KILLS ME!”  
I looked up as Inuyasha’s face twisted with anger and disgust. I wrapped my arms around his waist as he leaned over the barrier, his face a mix of anger and revulsion. “You won’t get fucking near her for the rest of your life! You come within a mile of her, and I’ll gut you like a fucking fish, you pig!” His voice boomed within the confines of the courtroom, echoing off the walls with ferocity. Naozumi screamed and a guard tased him, his body tensing then going limp. I looked up at Inuyasha, his eyes were starting to tinge red and his breathing was labored, the changes coming on slowly, but threatening to boil over without warning.  
I looked at Mom. “We need to go. Now.”   
I dragged Inuyasha out by his arm, willing him to calm down before he fell over the other side of his demon blood. I can control him when he’s normal, but it’s a guessing game when he’s turning full demon. I cursed the fact that he couldn’t bring Tessaiga with him as I dragged his simmering form along behind me out of the building and down the steps to the parking lot. We got to the car before Mom and I pushed him against it, willing him to calm himself. “Inuyasha, look at me! Everything's okay!” He growled and grunted animalistically, his hands turning into fists. He looked at me and I placed my forehead on his, my body pressed against him. “Please, baby. I’m here, I’m okay. Come back to me.” I licked my lips and repeated, “Come back to me, Inuyasha.” I gently pressed my lips to his and prayed for a reaction. After a few moments, I was granted one. He kissed me back and tangled a hand in my hair, the trembling of his arms and hands calming with every passing second. I pulled away and looked at him just in time to see his eyes return to their brilliant amber.  
“Kagome,” he murmured, before placing a gentle kiss on my lips. He pulled away and wrapped his arms around my neck, placing his chin on top of my head. “Let’s go home,” he whispered.


	10. Advancing

“Can you get the door? It must be trick-or-treaters!” I called to Inuyasha, still on the phone with the pizza man. I heard him get up and walk to the door, muttering about it being ‘too damn early for trick-or-treaters’ then opening the door. The squeal of “Trick or treat!” reverberated through the house. There had to be at least five of them! I finally hung up with the pizza man and went to the front door to look over Inuyasha’s shoulder.  
“Oh, my goodness!” I gushed. “What do we have here? A fireman, a princess, a tiger, a cowboy, and an astronaut!” The kids looked up at us excitedly and held out their candy buckets.   
Inuyasha chuckled at them and handed them each a heaping handful, almost twice what I would give him due to the size of his hands. “Alright, guys, we’ve got the works. Chocolate, Sweet Tarts, Twizzlers, suckers, gummy worms.”  
“Thank you!” they all exclaimed, walking down the driveway and up to the house next door.  
“I like your ears, Mr. Dog-Man!” the princess called, skittering back to her friends. I giggled as he groaned.  
Inuyasha shut the door and set the bowl down on the coffee table. “When is the food gonna be here?”  
“They said twenty-five minutes. Just enough time to decide on a movie and put the cookies in the oven,” I replied excitedly. We never got the house to ourselves, so I had a lot of things planned. I pulled my sleeves down on my pajamas, realizing how cold it really was. “Wow, it’s chilly in here,” I commented, making my way to the thermostat. “Sixty degrees?! Are they trying to freeze me?!”  
I adjusted the thermostat and let out a battle cry, jumping over the back of the couch to join Inuyasha. “So, left or right?” Inuyasha held the movies in his hands behind his back, only he knew which movie was in either hand.  
“Hmm,” I pondered. “I pick...right!”   
He pulled his right arm out from behind him. “The Corpse Bride it is, then. Say, how is it you always seem to pick this movie no matter which hand it’s in?”  
I giggled. “You have a habit of putting it in your right hand, silly.”  
“I do not!” he exclaimed, thinking to himself for a moment. “I think you pulled that out of your ass.”  
“Did not! It’s a fact! Ask Sota,” I retorted, hitting him with the spider web shaped pillow I held in my lap. He grabbed the pumpkin pillow and hit me back, softer. It was on.  
A full-on pillow fight ensued, moving from the living room to the stairs, then up to my bedroom. I tried to lock him out before he could get to me, but he was too fast. “You can run,” he warned from the other side of the door as he turned the knob before I could lock it, “but you can’t hide!” He burst in the room, picking me up by my waist and suplexing me onto my bed. He straddled me and kept hitting me with the pillow. My stomach and face hurt with laughter, unable to defend myself against the onslaught. “Oh, what? You quitting now?” he joked, poking my ticklish spots. I suddenly remembered a move he taught me in the feudal era. I picked my leg up and wrapped it around his stomach, throwing him backwards towards the headboard and I sat up.  
“Ha!” I celebrated, now straddling him instead. He looked up at me with a surprised expression, his hands grasping my thighs. We stopped laughing, taking in the moment we had found ourselves in. Inuyasha sat up, placing his hands on my lower back to keep me from falling. He put his hand on my cheek, his eyes darting to my lips.  
“Kagome, can I kiss you?” he whispered, so close I could see the spaces in between his eyelashes. I nodded and he pressed his lips against mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pressing myself against him. He let out the slightest moan, pulling me closer to him. Fireworks were erupting behind my eyelids. I plunged my hand into his hair, scratching his scalp lightly with my fingernails. My body tingled with every movement, every caress of his lips on mine. He kept his hands where they were, but I did not. I had been craving his touch for the past two days. I knew how badly he wanted to keep me comfortable, but I almost couldn’t stand it any longer. I pulled away from him and dipped my head under his, kissing his neck and tightening my legs around him. He groaned, tilting his head to the side. I gave him a little nip and he jumped, groaning in my ear. “Kagome, please,” he whimpered, his hands squeezing my thighs.  
“Touch me,” I commanded quietly, unzipping my pajamas and placing his hands inside. They stayed on my waist for a few moments, then ventured up to gently cup my bare breasts. He skimmed his thumb over my nipple, eliciting a gasp from my mouth. He tensed for a moment, then relaxed again. He dipped his head down and peppered kisses all over my chest before pulling down the shoulders of my outfit. My body was on fire and yearning for the man in front of me. I felt a wet and warm sensation take my nipple, sucking gently-DING-DONG, DING-DONG!  
I jumped and screamed, falling out of his lap and landing on the floor. “I’ll get that!” I gasped, stumbling to my feet and running down the stairs, stopping at the bottom to fix my hair and zip my pajamas. I took a breath, my heart pounding with shock and excitement. Sprinting to the front door, I opened it and found a man holding a few pizza boxes. I paid him and took the food wordlessly, handing him a few pieces of candy and shutting the door. I placed the food on the kitchen table and stared at it, unable to call Inuyasha downstairs. Why was I being so weird? It wasn’t like our previous makeout sessions hadn’t gotten heated like that before. I heard him walk down the stairs and stand behind me. He practically oozed apprehension. Then, right when I felt I needed to say something, he wrapped his arms around me from behind and kissed the back of my head. All was good and done, and I was thankful that we didn’t always need words.  
We sat at the table and ate our dinner, cleaned up, put our cookies in the oven, then put the movie in the DVD player. Inuyasha sat in the corner of the couch, his arms resting on the back and legs splayed. I moved from my seat and crawled to him, lowering my body on top of his and laying my head on his chest. I nuzzled into his Fire Rat, remembering when we were in the feudal era and every once in a while we would do this after everyone fell asleep. It was the only time we were able to. He wrapped a leg around mine and placed a hand in my hair, gently scratching with his nails. I sighed, finally feeling perfectly content for the first time in a long time.


	11. Solitary Pleasures

“I don’t know what to do,” I weeped, wiping my eyes with the tissue Janye offered me. “I try, and try, and try, but I can’t do it! I’m going to lose him if I don’t figure this out!”  
“Kagome, I hate to say it, but I think you might be overreacting just a tad,” Janye said calmly, leaning forward. Today, her lips were stained a dark blue and her eyelids were green. “Has he given you any reason to think he would stray or leave if this doesn’t get resolved?”  
I sniffled, looking down at my hands. “Well, no. I’m scared, though. He’s still a man, he has needs. Why can’t I do just that? I can cook, clean, give him love and support, but I can’t do this? Something that’s supposed to be a part of human nature?”  
She sighed, leaning back in her big comfy chair. “Kagome, these things take time. It could take months before you truly feel ready to have any kind of sex.”   
Inuyasha and I had been trying to have sex for a few weeks now. Every time he would touch me down there, I would start hyperventilating.  
“Kagome, are you sure about this? I don’t want you to feel like I’m pressuring you. It was more just a thought than a plan.”  
“Yes, Inuyasha. I need to go back to a normal life, and that also means being able to participate in normal adult milestones,” I replied, pulling his shirt over his head. He nodded and placed his mouth on mine, splaying his hands across my bare back. I was gently laid on the bed, Inuyasha squatting in front of me. Already the fireworks were exploding behind my eyelids, the tingling sensation overtaking my senses. He gently pulled my underwear down my thighs, kissing my ankles and calves. I watched him as he did this, feeling like I was going to burst with pleasure. He moved up to my knees, then my thighs, paying special attention to the sweet spots behind my knees.   
He kissed and licked and sucked, my arousal becoming more fragrant as he went on. I watched him move to my core, kissing it lightly before licking me gently. Everything was fantastic for a few seconds, I was loving it. Nothing in this moment could go wrong.  
Then, I closed my eyes.   
I saw Naozumi’s face, laughing, screaming at me, saying those words again. If you make a fucking sound, I’ll slit your throat ear to ear, bitch. My chest became heavy, my lungs were gulping for air that I couldn’t find. Inuyasha noticed the change, and immediately stopped. He pulled me up from my lying position and sat behind me, pulling my arms away from my midsection and holding them out, reminding me to take in deep breaths. It always ends with me crying and apologizing.  
“Hey, don’t do that. You did nothing wrong,” he said firmly, holding me tightly against him as I hiccupped. “You have nothing to apologize for. We’ll figure it out.” Every time we tried, it went something similar to that.  
“Have you tried masturbating?” Janye asked.  
I blinked, shocked by what she asked. “Uh, no. Why would I do that? I have a boyfriend.”  
She chuckled. “You can still masturbate, Kagome. It’s perfectly healthy and natural.”  
I looked up at her, embarrassed. “How do I do it? I’ve seen porn, it looks painful.” She gave me a pamphlet on the specifics, telling me to get an appointment with my OBGYN if I had more questions.  
“If the hands don’t work, don’t be afraid to hit up a sex shop. They have lots of tools that can be useful in your journey. Just try not to overwhelm yourself,” she advised, genuine hope in her eyes.  
I went home, reading the pamphlets on the train. I hid them with my hands so as to not give some creep the wrong idea. Walking through the front door, I realized I was home alone. Mom left a note; she was working a double, Sota was staying the night at a friends house, and Grandpa went to visit his brother in Hong Kong for the week. Inuyasha also left a note; he had to run to work because he’d forgotten to pick up his paycheck, he’d be back in an hour. I didn’t know when he wrote that but I assumed he would be gone a bit longer. Inuyasha had gotten a job as a security officer at a bank downtown so he could help in saving money for us to move out. I was teaching preschool while I was in college part time and saving every penny I could. I would only be in college for another eight months, so I could save a lot of money until then unless I decided to leave before that. Being in our own place would be ideal, but I’m not in a big rush.  
I glanced down at the pamphlet in my hand, thinking. What’s the hurt in trying?   
I hung up my coat and purse and jogged up the stairs to the bathroom, deciding to take a nice bath. I shrugged out of my clothes and pinned my hair up as the water heated and filled the tub. I lit a few vanilla latte scented candles, threw in some bubbles and turned off the lights. The candles casted a gentle orange glow that reminded me of the fires we would have in the feudal era. I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath through my nose. It smelled heavenly.   
I stepped into the steaming tub, the temperature was just right. I sat back against the tub and sighed, running my hands over the bubbles. I sat there for a little while, Halloween night laying heavily on my mind. It still made me blush thinking about it. We’d gone a bit farther since then, but that time was so unintentional, unrehearsed. It gave me that feeling in the pit of my belly that I’d been unable to achieve since then. I rubbed my chest and breasts, thinking about how Inuyasha had touched me. My hand disappeared under the water, rubbing my inner thigh as I tweaked my nipple.  
I gently touched myself, assuming the worst. I rubbed in circles as the pamphlet had recommended, and gasped. It felt good. No anxiety, no worry. I thought back to Inuyasha, kissing my neck, my nipple in his mouth. A moan escaped my lips, my fingers speeding up. The pleasure was building, my cheeks were getting hotter as I recalled his moans in my ear. Kagome, he’d whispered.   
“Inuyasha,” I moaned, the pressure beginning to build as my movements became jerkier. I’d never felt this before. It was like a tidal wave pulling back, preparing to crash against the beach. The crash came, it was unlike any feeling I’d felt before. It didn’t just come, it kept coming. Kept pulling back and crashing forward. I cried out, my body spasming. It wouldn’t stop, it felt like it would never stop. I cried out and rubbed harder, the orgasm increasing in volume. I cried out again, and the door whipped open.  
I jumped and looked to see none other than Inuyasha himself standing there. I kept coming, and watched as he took in the scene in front of him. His eyes darkened and he took a step forward. “Kagome,” he whispered, his member hardening against the tightness of his jeans. I stood and stepped out of the tub, throwing myself into his arms. He caught me as he always did, his mouth crashing down on mine. I unbuckled his belt and unbuttoned his jeans as we stumbled to the bedroom. I shoved him down on the bed and pulled his pants and boxers down, holding his erection in my hand. I rubbed my hand up and down it and he groaned, throwing his head back.  
“I’m not ready for sex,” I breathed, stroking him slowly. “But, we can do other stuff.”  
“Mhmm, other s-stuff is g-gooood,” he moaned, biting his lip. I stroked faster, sensing that he was near his end. I’d only just gotten started, but I didn’t mind. It made me feel good that I had this kind of effect on him. He groaned, “God, Kagome, don’t stop.” I quickened my pace, peppering kisses on his abdomen and thighs, enjoying the way he watched me. His legs began to shake and he cried out, his seed spurting across my chest. He panted heavily, staring at me with heat in his eyes. “I love you,” he breathed, leaning his head against the wall and closing his eyes.  
I smiled and leaned forward to place a gentle kiss on his lips. “I love you more.”


	12. This Heart is Mine

“Happy Labor Thanksgiving!” Mom exclaimed as I opened the door.  
“Happy Labor Thanksgiving, guys!” I repeated, moving to the side so Mom, Sota, and Grandpa could come in from the cold. They each carried a few large dishes with them, heavenly smells of herbs and spices wafting around us. I took the dishes from Grandpa and set them on the dining room table.  
“What smells good?” Inuyasha called, walking into the living room. He wore a blue button down with a black t-shirt underneath, dark blue jeans and no shoes as per usual. He walked to my mother and plucked the heavy dishes out of her arms, carrying them to the dining room with ease.  
“Thank you, darling. We’ve got unagi, yakitori, sukiyaki, tonkatsu, pork belly, a few others, and a surprise for Kagome! Sota, will you grab Kagome’s surprise from the car please?” Mom asked, handing her coat to Inuyasha’s waiting hands. I took Grandpa’s as they looked around the newly finished room before them.   
Inuyasha and I had found a house a week ago and had finally gotten everything settled. It came up on the house rental site I was subscribed to, and it was such a good deal I couldn’t see why we should pass it up. It was well under our budget and the perfect size for just the two of us.   
Mom gave us her couch as a house warming present since she decided to get a new one and we found our coffee table, dining room table and chairs and most of our other stuff at a used items store. Grandpa had gifted us a beautiful cup, bowl, plate, and silverware set, complete with six sets of bamboo chopsticks.  
“Grandpa, these are beautiful! Where did you find them?” I gushed, gently setting the last utensil in the drawer on our last moving day.  
“Oh, I found them at that antique shop downtown. The owner gave me quite the deal!” he replied, sounding very proud of himself.  
“Sota! Hurry up, it’s not even heavy!” Inuyasha barked at the struggling Sota holding up the other end of the couch. They finally sat it down and Sota collapsed over the arm, breathing heavily. “Oh, don’t be dramatic,” Inuyasha scolded, poking his shoulder blade.  
“I’ve watched you pick up Kagome over your head with one hand! Of course it’s easy for you!” Sota gasped, still laying over the couch.  
“Kagome, this place looks great,” Mom complimented, smiling at me. I had hung up the last of the paintings that Miasoka had sent me while away at art school and got our bedroom completely set up just before they got here. Our home was bright and cozy, with lots of brightly colored pillows and blankets, flower paintings and framed pictures everywhere. Sota came back from the car and handed me a separate dish covered in foil.   
I noted the distinct smell wafting from the covered dish, feeling a memory rushing forward from high school. “Mom, you didn’t!” I gasped, opening the foil. I squealed as I realized what it was and hugged her tightly.  
“Why are you screaming!” Inuyasha questioned, running to the living room.  
“Mac and cheese!” I squealed, shoving the dish in his face. “I went to America on a school trip a few years ago and had mac and cheese for the first time. It’s amazing but I haven’t been able to find it anywhere here that made it similarly.” I smelled the dish, inhaling deeply. “I’ve been craving it like crazy so Mom made some.”  
He rolled his eyes but smiled, walking back to the dining room. Sota, Mom and I followed the hanyou and began our dinner, trading dishes and sampling everything. “Wow,” Inuyasha commented, “this is really good.”  
“Which one?” I asked, glancing at his plate. He had a heaping spoonful of everything with a bowl of rice beside it.  
He took a sip of his sake. “I dunno, all of it?”  
Mom smiled and winked at him, taking a bite of the unagi. “Well, eat as much as you’d like. We took a bit of everything and put it in tupperware in the fridge, so whatever isn’t eaten stays with you two.” Inuyasha was a big fan of leftovers, and the less cooking I had to do the better.  
We sat and ate and conversed for hours. Sota’s class had sent their personalized letters to police officers, firemen, first responders, everyone of the like. “I thought they stopped making you do that in seventh grade,” I commented.  
“They made us start doing it again. Apparently people aren’t having kids like they used to so there weren’t enough community workers getting their fair share of letters,” Sota replied, rolling his eyes. “I don’t see what the big deal is. They’re just letters.”  
“When my mother was still around, we would donate crops and fabric to the families of soldiers that were off at war. It wasn’t much, but I think it made them feel better knowing their families were taken care of when they were gone,” Inuyasha replied, taking another sip of his sake.  
“We did something similar, we would take dinners and groceries to the families of fallen police force and firefighters,” Mom added, placing a piece of pork belly in her mouth.  
I took a big drink of my sake and set it down. “I didn’t really mind writing the letters. It made me feel like I was doing something nice. You’ll understand when you’re a bit older, Sota. I didn’t really get it either at your age, but I was going to school and to Inuyasha’s time simultaneously, so I didn’t have a lot of time for other stuff.”  
“I think you should be more appreciative, Sota. You have your family, they don’t have to put themselves on the front line,” Grandpa grumbled, spearing a cubed roasted squash. “My father was a police officer. He put himself in danger every day, but he never complained.”  
I finished two more bowls of sake before everyone left, leaving Inuyasha to load the dishwasher while I sat on the counter and hiccuped. “Damn, Kagome. How much did you drink?” he asked, closing the door and starting the washer.  
“Ooooh, I dunno. Four, I think?” I giggled. My cheeks were warm and my body felt like a limp noodle. Inuyasha rinsed his hands and looked outside. The sun was starting to go down finally.  
“Dammit, new moon,” he cursed, sighing and looking at me. “Looks like it’s a human night.”  
“R-” hiccup, “Really? I thought that wasn’t till next week,” I slurred, downing the last of my sake. Inuyasha took the bowl from me and I wrapped a leg around him, pulling him close. I placed a kiss on his cheek and trailed down to his neck, biting gently. He chuckled and wrapped his arms around my waist, leaning his head back. “Mmm, lets have sex, Inu.”  
He stopped abruptly, pulling away and looking at me. He shook his head. “No way, you’re drunker than shit, Kagome.”  
I scoffed, “I am not! I’m just a little...wobbly.” I pulled him close again, pushing a hand up his shirt and raking my nails down his God-like abs as I kissed him slowly. “Please, I want you so much, baby.” I placed his hand under my dress and his fingers on my naked labia. “I’m already wet for you,” I whispered in his ear, kissing his jaw. He groaned, his other hand gripping the counter top. I slowly unbuckled his belt and unbuttoned his pants, sliding my hand inside and gripping his erection. “Mmm,” I moaned, “you’re already hard for me, my love. I have something warm and wet you can put that in.”  
“God, Kagome. You’re so wet. I-I can’t-” he moaned gutterally in my ear, pumping himself in my hand. He rubbed the bundle of nerves between my legs and I moaned loudly. I pulled his member out and kissed him hard, scooting myself closer to the edge of the counter.  
“Please, baby. I need you,” I moaned, hitching my leg on his hip and rubbing the head of his erection against my core. He cried out, gripping my wrist and halting my movements. He breathed heavily for a moment, then he changed. His hair faded from the brilliant silver to inky black, his claws retreated and his eyes pooled with violet.  
“I can’t, Kagome. It’s not right,” he breathed, leaning his head on my shoulder. “I promise, if you still want me in the morning, I’ll very happily oblige. But now,” he placed a hand on my cheek and I leaned into it, “we need to get some sleep. We’re putting up Christmas decorations in the morning, remember?”  
I smiled as I remembered our plans for the next day, “Oh, yeah. Let’s get to bed then.”  
He picked me up and carried me to bed, helping me out of my dress and placing his Fire Rat over my shoulders. He took off his clothes as well and slid in beside me, naked. He pulled me close, kissing the top of my head. “Horny woman,” he grumbled, chuckling at my fingers jabbing his side. I laid my head on his chest and hitched my leg on his hip, snuggling in close to his warmth. He pulled the chain on the lamp on his side and settled in deeper, wrapping both of his arms around me and mumbling about Christmas. I was lulled to sleep by his steady heartbeat, knowing no matter what, this heart was mine.


	13. Human Emotions

“Can you put it a tad higher? And adjust the angel? She looks like she’s going to take a nosedive.”  
“I’ve put it a tad higher four times now, wench. Make up your mind,” Inuyasha growled, annoyed with my obsessive decorating. “What’s with the angel? I thought we were putting a star, or whatever?”  
“Yeah, but Mom gave us the angel and I would feel bad if we didn’t use it,” I answered, adjusting the gold ornament directly in front of me. I took a big drink of my water, hoping the headache pills and fluids would drown out my hangover.  
“You feelin’ any better? You drank a lot,” Inuyasha inquired, adjusting the tilted angel until she was straight again.  
I shrugged. “Punishment of my own doing, I suppose. I won’t be going that hard again, that’s for sure.”  
Inuyasha chuckled, “I dunno, I kinda like drunk Kagome. She likes to party.” He looked at me with a heated gaze. “And she really wanted to have sex.”  
I recalled the memory of my practically begging him to have sex with me. My cheeks heated at the mildly embarrassing memory. I’m lecherous like Miroku when I’m drunk. “Yeah, well. Not much to be done about that.” I busied myself with unpacking the wreath that goes on the door as Inuyasha jumped down from the ladder with a thud. He smacked my backside as he walked by, going to the bathroom. I couldn’t help but smile, thinking about how far we’d come since we met again. I thought about that day fondly, remembering every second.  
I had just gotten out of the last day of high school, feeling like I could really get on with my life as an adult. I was going to college in a few months, I didn’t think about Inuyasha and everyone else as much anymore, and I was finally feeling content.   
I walked by the shrine as I had done everyday for the past three years and stopped in my tracks. I slowly turned my head, feeling that long gone pull I hadn’t felt in years. I could practically see the aura, like heat waves coming off of pavement. The back of my brain uncovered memories I had placed in a box and stowed away, jumping in and out of the well, falling in for the first time, watching Inuyasha come through and leave. My feet moved on their own accord towards the shrine. The aura set off a sound similar to white noise, getting louder as I got closer. It had never felt so strong before. Was this my chance to see my friends again?   
Would this be my only chance to see him again?  
I slid open the door and felt my heart leap. The purple and blue magical light lit up the entire room, the shadows having no place to hide. I walked down the steps slowly, deliberately. I peeked over the edge and found the familiar galaxy waiting below.  
“Kagome?” I whirled around, my mother was standing at the top of the stairs. She stepped down as I looked at her, watching me with a sad smile. “It’s okay,” she murmured, placing her hands on my cheeks when she reached me. “Go.” The tears rolled silently and I hugged her tightly. I decided at that moment that if for some reason I couldn’t come back, I would have no regrets. Saying goodbye was the one thing I didn’t get to do three years ago.  
At least now, I can.  
“I’ll do everything I can to come back,” I promised, pulling away. “But if I can’t…I love you, Mom. Tell Grandpa and Sota that I love them, too.”   
She nodded, shooing me away. “Go, he’s waiting for you.” I took one last look at her then tore my eyes away, looking back down into the well. I hoisted myself into a crouching position on the edge, looking down at the swirling blue and purple below me with watery eyes.   
I took a breath and jumped.  
It was exactly as I remembered it, falling slowly into the bright oblivion, knowing what was on the other side. I found myself at the bottom, fallen leaves crunching beneath me. I patted the ground with my hands, making sure this wasn’t a dream. The soil was damp and cool, but so was the dirt in the shrine. I counted to three then looked up, my eyes meeting with a clear blue sky.   
I stood up just as a shadow casted itself over the well. I began my climb, gripping the vines and rocks tightly, my muscles straining against the forgotten activity. A hand held itself out to me, strong and veiny with long claws. I gripped it tightly and was pulled the rest of the way up, breaking the surface and staring into the amber eyes that I only saw in my dreams. Inuyasha held me by my waist with one arm as he laced our fingers tightly with his other, pulling me over the edge. He stared at me for a moment, his eyes wide and confused. He slowly placed me on my feet but didn’t let go. He pulled his hand away from mine and gently placed it on my cheek, rubbing his thumb across my lips.   
“Where the hell have you been, stupid?” he whispered, his voice thick. I couldn’t help it, I started laughing. Not like the Ha-ha-you-look-like-an-idiot kind of laugh. The disbelief that raced through my mind made me erupt with laughter. I couldn’t believe I was standing here once again. The laughter soon turned into sobs that wracked me to my core.  
“Inuyasha!” I cried, throwing myself into his arms. He caught me instinctually and held me tightly, his entire body quivering. I dug my nails into my palm, still convinced I was dreaming.   
Alas, I wasn’t.   
I sobbed hard, my whole body shaking and quivering against him. He slid down the side of the well and sat cross legged and laid my body across his lap. I held him tight and stroked his hair, my sobs turning into hiccups and his shaking ceasing. I pulled away and wiped my tears with my sleeves and placed my hands on his cheeks. He looked up at me with a combination of confusion and happiness gracing his features, giving me a small smile.  
“Are you really here?” he croaked, looking into my eyes.  
“I’m still trying to figure that out,” I answered honestly. I reached up a hand and gingerly rubbed a furry ear between my fingers. “How is this happening?”   
He sighed and closed his eyes, leaning his forehead against mine. Obviously, he had just as many answers as I did.  
“Inuyasha! What was that scream?” I heard behind us. I looked back and found Miroku standing a few yards away, his eyes wide and confused. His face broke out into a smile and he looked behind him. “Kagome is back!” he called, racing to us. I stood and hugged him tightly, remembering the smell of his robes. Earthy with hints of lilac. He pulled away and put his hands on either side of my head. “My God, you’re really here?” He broke out into happy laughter and hugged me again, smacking a kiss on the side of my head. “Wait until Sango gets here! She’s going to be-”  
“Kagome?” I heard Sango call. I looked up and found my long lost friend reaching the top of the slight hill, and tears leapt into my eyes.  
“Sango!” I cried, letting go of Miroku and running to her. We slammed into each other, almost falling to the ground with the force of our hug.  
“Wh-What are y-you d-doing here?” she cried, holding me tightly.  
“I don’t know, I just w-went down the well and came up here,” I answered, having a hard time getting the words out. I felt a small hand on my leg and looked down to find Shippo beneath me, tears already rolling down his fuzzy cheeks. “Oh, my little fox!” I cried, dropping to my knees and scooping him up in my arms. He was a bit bigger than he used to be but I didn’t care, my baby was in my arms once again.  
“Kagome! How did you get here!” he exclaimed, wrapping his arms around my neck.  
“I dunno, I’m just happy to see you,” I replied, hugging him tightly. The rest of the afternoon was spent talking and laughing with the people I love most, Inuyasha sitting right beside me holding my hand.  
The day was coming to an end with my favorite person by my side, the sun casting red and purple hues across the canvas of the sky.  
“You can’t stay here,” he murmured as we sat in the grass next to the well, watching the sun go down.  
I looked up at him, my heart dropping. “What?” He couldn’t really be saying this. After all this time, after finally getting back he wants me to go back home?  
“Come on, Kagome. You and I both know ya can’t stay here. You’ve got your family and school, your friends. You can’t stay here.”   
I was seeing red, and it wasn’t just his Fire Rat. Who did he think he was, telling me where I can and can’t go? That’s just like him, still believing that he’s the boss of me.  
Just when I was going to give him the ‘Sit’ of his life and tell him where he can shove his opinion, he looked back up at me with a sly smile. “So I’m comin’ home with you.”  
“Hey! Do we have any more of them candles? I want the bathroom to smell like the bedroom,” Inuyasha called from the hallway. I heard him rummage through the hall closet, cursing when he couldn’t find what he was looking for.  
“No, I don’t think so. I only got two of them and the other one is in here,” I called back. “I bet they have more at Seibu.”   
He groaned, closing the closet door and slumping against the door frame of the living room. “I didn’t really wanna go out today, but I do want more of those candles.”  
“Good, because we need more laundry detergent and toothpaste,” I replied, hanging up the last Christmas decoration. I stood back and admired our work, Inuyasha making a sound of approval. “Man, I love Christmas almost as much as Halloween.”  
“That’s an understatement,” Inuyasha muttered, ducking before I could hit him with a pillow shaped like a snowman.   
I realized then that we had pillows for almost every season. Flowers for spring, beach balls for summer, Halloween theme for fall, and Christmas theme for winter.  
He stood and shook a finger at me. “Ah, ah, ah, wench. Remember the last pillow fight? I very obviously won.” He grabbed a pillow and stood in his fighting stance. “Unless you want a rematch?”  
I answered with a battlecry and jumped over the couch, hitting him in the shoulder. He hit me back and ran down the hallway as I chased after him. “You’re gonna lose this time, Dog Boy!” I threatened, cornering him in the bedroom. “What’s it gonna be? Admit defeat? Or go down fighting?”  
“Oh, I never admit defeat,” he growled, holding his pillow high above his head with a cocky smile. I readied my weapon, going to hit him in the gut. He dropped his pillow and grabbed me around my waist, tossing me on the bed and jumping on. He tickled my sides and blew raspberries into my neck, my hands and pillow pinned between my chest and his. I fell into a fit of giggles, unable to defend myself against his attack. “Do you give in, wench? Do ya?” he asked, lifting my shirt to blow raspberries on my stomach.  
“Okay, okay! I give! I give!” I pleaded, taking a deep breath. “Can we go to the store now?”  
He got off of the bed and held his hand out. “Let’s go, woman.”  
Twenty minutes later, we were standing on the train headed towards downtown. Inuyasha held the railing while I stood with my arm around his waist. I could very distinctly feel someone’s eyes on me, and it made my skin crawl. I glanced behind me and saw a guy in his thirties, staring at me. His mouth was agape and he breathed loudly while he stared, feeling unashamed that he was totally creeping me out.  
“What’s with the nervousness?” Inuyasha murmured in my ear, sniffing the air around us. He looked up. “Is that guy staring at you?” I could hear the anger rise in his voice. He wrapped an arm around me and rotated us so I was against the wall and all the guy could see was Inuyasha’s back. He kissed the top of my head and growled as he stared at the man. “Oi, you wanna stare at my girl a little longer, ya fucking creep?” The man jumped and looked away, busying his hands with his satchel. If looks could kill, this guy would’ve been dead a while ago. I gave Inuyasha a gentle kiss on his throat, a silent thank-you. He squeezed my waist and murmured, “Nobody gets to stare at my woman but me.”  
On one hand, his possessiveness was almost annoying. No man could even glance at me without Inuyasha getting the wrong idea. On the other hand, he was undeniably sexy at the same time. The glint in his eye and protective arm wrapped around me gave me chills.  
Walking into the store, I immediately darted towards the Christmas section. With our cart being pushed by Inuyasha and the list in my hand, nothing could derail our trip. “Okay, did you like the one that smells like cookies or pine?” I asked, scouring the shelves for the candles I’d bought a few days ago.  
“I kinda liked both,” he answered, tapping a globe with children and a snowman inside.  
“Both it is then. A-ha!” I exclaimed, finding my items side by side. I grabbed both of the jars and placed them in the cart gently. “And now; laundry detergent. Onward!” I did my best to make our trips fun, but Inuyasha was all for getting the stuff and going. “Let’s go look at the fish.”  
“No way, what’s the point of fish? All they’re good for is eatin’. They just swim around and don’t do anything,” he retorted, giving me a look.  
“Come on, we need to christen our new place with a pet! You’d love having a dog or a cat,” I replied. “Maybe we could get a fluffy white cat.” I glanced at him. “Or a dog.”  
“We’re not getting a damned dog.”  
“You could bond.”  
“Over what?”  
“Your dogness.”  
“Wench.”  
“Dog Boy.”  
“Alright fine, you insufferable child! We’ll get a damn cat!” he sighed heavily, his hands falling to his sides. I giggled, proud of my achievement. After receiving the laundry detergent and arguing about whether to get liquid, powder, or pods we moved on to the toothpaste. “What’s the difference? They all clean your teeth, just get the one we usually use.”  
Explaining to him the difference in quality versus quantity when it comes to things you consume or use on your body was much easier than I expected it would be.  
“So, the things that are more expensive are better?” he asked, scratching the nape of his neck.  
“Usually. The stuff that’s two dollars probably won’t work as well as the stuff that’s five dollars. But, you never know. That’s why you use the cheap stuff first, then you try the more expensive stuff later. Make a decision about what works better for you.”  
After gathering the rest of our items and leaving the store we boarded the train again, this time, Inuyasha sat me down in a seat and stood in front of me. The creepy guy was nowhere in sight but I still felt a bit squirmy. Inuyasha carried the bags, leaving only the laundry detergent for me to hold in my lap. The ride was mostly quiet other than a crying baby and the many conversations going on around us.  
“Do you think his hair is real?”  
“No way, has to be a cosplayer or something. Just look at his hands!”   
I glanced up at Inuyasha, suppressing a giggle at the look of annoyance on his face. His hand tightened around the bar, looking tight enough to bend the metal. I placed a hand on his thigh, rubbing my thumb in circles. He visibly relaxed, muttering something about people can’t mind their damn business.   
I always thought that it was a little funny when people thought he was a cosplayer. Inuyasha definitely was annoyed by it, but I don’t know what he expected.  
“Can’t you trim them, or something?” I asked as we placed our brand new bed sheets on our mattress the night we moved into our house. His nails had punctured many holes in the sheets that we used to have, so we had to get new ones.  
“They’ll just grow back in a couple of hours. Also, why would I want to? If I don’t have my claws, all I have is my strength,” he retorted, gently tucking the sheet into the corner.  
“Oh, yeah. So useless,” I sneered, rolling my eyes. “You’re the one always complaining of people thinking you’re a cosplayer. You may as well just go out without your hat, really give them something to look at.”  
On our walk home from the train station, we talked about Christmas.  
“What do you want?” I asked, looking at him as we walked.  
He shrugged. “I dunno. I can’t think of anything. Maybe a spell to take these beads off?” He gently tugged at the necklace around his neck.  
I’d been agonizing over as many books and scrolls as I could get my hands on trying to figure out how to rid him of the beads. I knew they caused him a lot of pain, thinking of all the times I’d used them on him. The only reason I’d feared taking them off of him was thinking about the next time his yokai blood takes over and I can’t get him back with just my words. What if he hurts someone?  
Regardless, I knew I could take them off. I could give him the one thing he really wanted.  
“Well, you’ll be happy to know, I just figured out how to get them off,” I replied, shoving the key in the door and opening it. I set the detergent down in the laundry room and came back to the living room, shedding my coat. I looked up as I put my coat on the rack. Inuyasha was still standing in the doorway, a look of disbelief on his face.  
“Wait, so you can get them off? Really?” he croaked, hope in his eyes.  
“Yes, I can. If you come inside and put the stuff down I’ll do it right now,” I replied, my heart swelling at the hopefulness in his eyes. I knew how much this really meant to him, so I wasn’t going to waste any time. He was a blur setting the groceries down and putting his coat on the rack next to mine. We both took our shoes off and stood in front of each other in the middle of the living room.  
“Okay,” I breathed, placing my hands on the necklace. I noticed the locket I gave him so long ago residing around his neck hanging a bit lower than the beads. It made my heart skip with love. “Are you ready?”  
He was practically vibrating with anticipation. “Yes.”  
We’d only discussed ridding him of the beads once before, a few months before we were separated.  
“Can you take these damn things off? I’m tired of eating dirt every time you’re mad at me!”  
“No way! I only ‘S’ you when you’re being a real jerk,” I replied, poking the fire in front of me with a stick. “It’s not like I do it just because.”  
“You just sat me just a few hours ago when I ate one of your ninja snacks,” he deadpanned, glaring at me.  
“Hey, I specifically told you that you could have anything other than my dried seaweed! Just that one packet was as much as ten of your ramen bowls!”  
“Not the point,” he retorted. “There’s no good reason for the beads to stay. Just find out how to take ‘em off, would ya?”  
“What if you go full yokai again and I can’t control you? What then?”  
He flinched. “I’ve learned to control it better, wench. You’ve only sat me once when my demon blood took over. Obviously, you haven’t needed it the other times.” He almost seemed offended by my reply. “You know I wouldn’t hurt anybody.”  
“Not on purpose,” I grumbled, wrapping my sleeping bag tighter around my shoulders. We didn’t discuss it again until this day.  
I closed my eyes and visualized the rosary in my hands. The energy flowed from my chest through my arms and into my hands, coiling around the necklace like a snake. In my mind, I coaxed the beads from his neck, gently pulling and murmuring to myself. The energy pulsed in my hands, almost like it was resisting. I furrowed my brows and pulled harder, then, they snapped. I opened my eyes and watched the beads fall, scattering across the carpet. Even I felt the change. The atmosphere became lighter, like I too wore metaphorical beads around my neck. I looked up at Inuyasha, a smile on my face. He stared at the ground for a moment, then he sniffled. He fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around my waist.   
“Thank you, Kagome,” he cried, shoving his face into my abdomen. My heart ached for him and I wrapped my arms around his head, flicking off his cap and gently rubbing his ears.  
“You’re welcome, Inuyasha,” I murmured, stroking his hair and ears as he cried. His human emotions had more control than usual these days. I sat down on my knees and held him as he cried his tears of relief. He was finally free, and I was so thankful I could give him that.


	14. Merry Christmas To All, and To All A Good Night

“Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock! Jingle bell swingin’, jingle bell sway,” the radio sang to me as I placed the baking tray in the oven, excited for my Christmas cookies. Mom and Sota would be back any minute, Grandpa snored quietly on the couch as A White Christmas played silently on the television. I untied my cooking apron and placed it on the doorknob to the broom closet, striding to the bedroom where Inuyasha was supposed to be getting dressed.  
“Do I have to wear this?” Inuyasha whined as I walked into our room. “I look ridiculous.”  
“That’s the point, Inuyasha. You’re supposed to look a little silly in an ugly Christmas sweater,” I noted, straightening the wrinkled reindeer on his abdomen. “Besides, you’ll be thankful for the sweater after the temperature drops. It’s supposed to get down to negative ten tonight.”  
“Then I’ll worry about that when I get to it,” he remarked, pulling on the sleeves.  
“Please? Just wear it for an hour until we do the gifts then you can change. But, you have to wear a shirt. I think you made Sota uncomfortable last week at dinner.”  
“Hey, your mother leaves it at eighty degrees constantly in the winter. It’s not my fault he doesn’t work out,” he retorted, giving me a smirk.  
“Neither do you, ya goof.”   
I pushed my cold hands under his shirt and sighed contentedly at the warmth while he hissed, “Dammit, wench! You’re freezing!”   
I giggled, “You don’t work out either, you’re made this way naturally. Not that I’m complaining.” I trailed off, rubbing his abs with my thumbs.  
“Not true, I basically work out at work. Lot’s of heavy lifting and stuff when the tellers can’t do it,” he gasped, letting me warm my hands on his back now. “Come on, your mother is back.” He heard her walking up the steps before I did, opening the door and shutting it quickly, complaining of freezing fingers and noses.  
We walked out of the bedroom as Mom and Sota were shedding their coats and talking about hot chocolate. “Here, I’ll go warm the milk and you sit, Mom,” Sota offered, taking the plastic bag from her hands. He placed a large box under the tree then shoved his shoes off and walked to the kitchen, humming to Jingle Bell Rock fading from the radio. I grabbed the afghan from the back of the couch and placed it around her shoulders as she sat in the loveseat.  
“Oh, thank you, Kagome. It’s already so chilly out!” she exclaimed, rubbing her arms.  
“I’ll start the fire,” Inuyasha stated. Grandpa snorted awake and grabbed the remote sitting beside him, flicking the television off. Inuyasha grabbed an armful of the logs sitting in the metal bucket beside the fireplace and pulled the gate back. He placed them inside gently and took a minute or so to arrange them like a tent. I handed him the box of long matches as he finished stuffing some newspaper in between the logs. He struck the match against the striking surface, lit the paper, and we all watched as the fire spread around, enveloping the wood. The fire popped and flickered gently, adding the ambience this Christmas needed. Inuyasha closed the gate and latched it as Sota came out of the kitchen with hands full of mugs steaming with hot chocolate and a plate of warm cookies from the oven. He set them down on the coffee table and we uttered our thank-you’s. I handed Mom her mug and a cookie from my spot on the floor at her feet, looking back at the fire.  
“Oh, that’s much better,” I sighed, holding my mug tightly. “Are we ready for the gifts now?”  
“I believe so,” Mom answered. I leaned forward and grabbed hers and Grandpa’s gifts from Inuyasha and I. They were both wrapped in purple wrapping paper patterned with little Christmas trees as well as Sota’s. Inuyasha had taken the liberty of learning how to tie the bows as I had on Mom’s gift. Her bow was cute and gently tied with little coils of ribbon, while Grandpa’s and Sota’s were a bit rough looking. Inuyasha had been proud, although, so I only smiled when he excitedly presented them to me.  
“These are for you guys. Just something to show our appreciation for everything you’ve done for us,” I said, watching them rip the paper almost excitedly.  
“Oh, Kagome! You shouldn’t have!” Mom cried, holding up the matching diamond earring and necklace set in front of her. “They’re absolutely beautiful! Thank you both so much!” Inuyasha smiled and squeezed my hand from his spot beside me.  
“You got me tickets to see Yo-Yo Ma! Goodness, you two!” Grandpa smiled at us broadly, seeming extremely happy with his gift. “This means the world to me.”  
“Now you, Sota,” I redirected, pushing his gift to him. He held it in his hands and opened it carefully.  
“You got me new cleats! The exact ones I wanted! Thank you, guys! You’re the best.” He hugged me with one arm tightly and gave Inuyasha a fist bump.  
“Okay, now you guys,” Mom interjected, pushing a large box to each of us. I picked mine up and noted the weight. I looked at Mom, confused, but she only smiled brightly at me. I opened the box and found a stuffed animal sitting inside. I picked it up and looked at it, completely shocked. It was an almost exact replica of Shippo, clothes and all. The fur was soft and fluffy, his eyes were large and emerald as I’d remembered them. I immediately began weeping, looking up at Mom with thankful eyes. “Inuyasha told me how much you missed him, so I thought I’d give my doll making friend a call.” I hugged the Shippo to my chest, feeling almost as if I was hugging him instead. I leaned my head against her knee and she smoothed my hair.   
I wiped my eyes and Inuyasha squeezed my knee. “Okay,” I croaked, smiling at him. “Your turn.”  
“You’re a difficult man to shop for, but I thought you’d appreciate this,” Grandpa noted, watching as he opened the long box. I gasped at the same time as him, surprised by what lay in the box. It was an exact replica of Tessaiga, complete with a similar black stained bamboo sheath. He pulled the sword out of the box and stared, holding his breath. The blade was obviously different, sleek and sharp and shiny. But everything else was exact. It looked brand new.  
“This...this is amazing, old man. Thank you,” Inuyasha uttered, looking at my grandfather with the most grateful expression I’ve ever seen him make.  
“Now, I know it can’t transform or do the things your sword does, but I thought it would be a nice thing for you to have,” Grandpa said, completely aware of the difference.  
“I’ll cherish this,” Inuyasha replied honestly. He sheathed the sword and left to put it in the bedroom.  
“He seems to really like it,” Mom commented quietly.  
“I’ve never seen him seem so emotional over a gift,” I answered. “Even when I got him that membership to that ramen company for his birthday. But, he does miss being able to use Tessaiga on a regular basis. Maybe this will help.” Everyone left shortly after that, promising to call when they got home. I cuddled on the couch with my Shippo as Inuyasha locked the door, turning to face me. He walked towards me, sitting down next to me and placing his fist on my knee. “Did you tell the lady what he looked like? This is incredibly accurate.”  
“Eh, maybe a little,” he answered, facing me. “I just didn’t want you to be so sad anymore. I know it’s not much but it’s something. Do you really like it?” I nodded, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Well, that’s not all I got you.” He reached between the couch and the wall, pulling out a picture frame. “Can you try to promise you won’t cry?”  
“We both know that’s impossible,” I replied. He nodded, accepting my answer then he turned the frame around. A delicate hand painted picture sat in front of me. I stared at it for a while, trying to figure out what made it so special. Then, I found them. Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Kaede, Rin, Inuyasha, me, even Sesshomaru and Koga. They were all there in the painting. We were sitting and some were standing around the tree where we met for the first time. Everyone was illustrated so carefully, every brush stroke so deliberate. I didn’t realize I was crying again until a tear splattered against the glass. I looked up at him. “H-How did you-”  
“The doll maker your mom talked about also did paintings. I thought since we can’t go to them anymore, they can be here,” he replied, looking up at me. “Do you like it?”  
“God, this is the most thoughtful thing someone has ever given me. I can never thank you enough. I love you so much, Inuyasha.” I leaned forward and kissed him, gently placing the painting on the coffee table. I pulled away. “I have something to give you, too.”   
He looked at me curiously as I stood and offered him my hand. He took it and I led him to the bedroom, closing the door behind us. I looked back at him, my hands shaking and my cheeks heating. I stared at him for a moment, unaware of how to approach what I was about to do. I wrung my hands and decided to just go for it. I grabbed the edge of my sweater and tugged it over my head, letting it fall to the ground. Inuyasha watched me as I edged closer, unzipping my skirt and letting it fall, stepping over it. I had gone to the mall one Saturday when he was called into work and went by a lingerie store. The red stockings, bra and panty set screamed at me from outside of the store. I purchased the set and decided I would wear them on that night.  
Inuyasha looked at what I was wearing and sucked in a breath. I stopped in front of him, inches away. “Do you want me?” I murmured, sliding my hands under his sweater.  
“Like I never have before,” he replied breathlessly, pulling his shirt over his head and wrapping his arms around me.   
He leaned down and gave me gentle pecks at first. On my forehead, my nose, my cheeks, the corners of my mouth. He finally kissed me, passion flowing through our bodies into one another. We were suddenly on the bed, Inuyasha was kicking off his jeans while pulling my panties down. I felt as if I should be nervous, but I was suddenly so ravenous for him I didn’t have the chance to question anything. He ripped my underwear off of me and paused for just a second, believing I would be angry. I crossed my ankles around his waist and he took the cue, moving down my body and burying his face in my heat. He was licking, nipping and sucking in all the right places, my body was on fire. I needed him, all of him. He hugged my thighs and buried his face further, leaving nothing untouched. The fire in my belly raged and I felt it coming.  
“Oh, god, Inuyasha. Just a bit longer,” I moaned, reaching behind myself and unclipping my bra. He caught one of my breasts and squeezed it, running his thumb over my nipple until it hardened. I could feel it coming, it was almost there. I shoved my fingers into his hair and pulled, unable to handle the feeling. It felt like I was being submerged in water, my appendages first then everything following. I came hard and didn’t stop, my thighs tightening around his head and my back bowing off of the bed. “INUYASHA!” I shouted, the waves of my orgasm crashing against me with reckless abandon. As it subsided Inuyasha stood and wiped his mouth with one hand, pumping his erection with his other. He stared at the space between my legs, his eyes focused.  
“God, I want you so bad,” he growled, leaning over me and placing his body between my legs. He held himself up with his arms and stared into my eyes.“Are you ready?” he asked hoarsely, rubbing the tip of his member against my folds.  
“Yes, please. I need you inside me,” I cried, wrapping my legs around his waist. The ache between my legs was almost painful, I needed him to rid me of the ache. He looked down where our bodies met, aligning himself and looking into my eyes again.  
“I love you,” he uttered before pushing himself inside me. He was bigger than I had originally thought, stretching me until I felt I couldn’t be stretched anymore. I dug my nails into his back and hissed in pain, tightening my legs around him. He pushed himself all the way in, whispering his apologies in my ear. He held himself there for a few moments, allowing me to adjust. He breathed slowly on top of me, his whole body shaking. “Jesus, Kagome. You’re so tight.”  
“Please, go slow,” I choked, turning my face away from his so he wouldn’t see the tears.  
“Kagome, no. Please, I’m so sorry.” He gripped my chin and turned my head to face him again, wiping my tears with his thumb. “We can stop.” He began to pull away but I grabbed his shoulders, keeping him in place.  
“Don’t...don’t stop. Just go slow, okay?” I whispered, wrapping my arms around his neck. He nodded and settled in closer to me, putting his arm behind my neck and the other on my leg. He pulled his hips back and thrust forward gently, picking up a slow rhythm. The pain lessened and it started to feel better, the grinding sensation assisting in the pleasure I felt when he slid himself against the tight bundle of nerves hidden in my folds. “Oh,” I moaned, biting my lip while he sucked on my neck. “That feels good.”  
A moan exploded from deep in his chest. “You feel so good,” he mumbled into my neck. He picked up the pace, one of his hands finding my breast and the other my hand. My hand was held above my head against the pillows as he grunted, sounding almost animalistic. I gently tugged on his hair, feeling the familiar knot in my lower stomach.  
“Please, don’t stop. Ohhh, I’m so close,” I whimpered in his ear. “Faster.” He began thrusting faster, harder. He reached a hand down and sat up, placing one of my legs over his shoulder. He gripped my thigh and rubbed the bundle of nerves, smirking at the sight of my trembling legs. The knot tightened then released like a rubberband, throwing me into a back bending orgasm. My walls clenched around him and he cried out at the feeling, stalling his movements completely.   
He looked at me and growled, “If you do that again, this isn’t going to last for very long.”  
He dropped my leg back down and leaned over me, holding himself up with his forearms. He resumed his previous motions, moaning in my ear and telling me how much he loved me. I was elated, sex was finally achieved! I didn’t feel like I was going to break into a million pieces. “I love you, Inuyasha,” I uttered, biting down on his shoulder as another orgasm ripped through me, blinding me for a moment with the sheer velocity.   
“I-I love you! I’m gonna-” he grunted, pushing his hips flush against mine, spilling himself inside me. He collapsed on top of me, sweaty and spent. I stroked his hair as we caught our breath, my body feeling tingly. He nuzzled his face into my neck, planting a gentle kiss on my throat. He pulled his head up and looked at me, seeming dazed. “Thank you,” he murmured, kissing my forehead.  
“For what?” I asked, rubbing one of his ears between my fingers.  
“For loving me, and trusting me. I get that wasn’t easy. But I’m happy we got to have that experience together, the right way. For that, I love you,” he answered, staring into my eyes and stroking my cheek with his claws.   
I felt the sting of tears behind my eyes but smiled, feeling like I was going to burst with happiness. At this moment, everything was in place. Everything was good, and happy. I never wanted to live outside of this moment.


	15. Happy New Year

“3, 2, 1! HAPPY NEW YEAR!” shouts and cries from all around us erupted, the sounds of noisemakers and confetti poppers bursting from every angle. I looked up at the man in my arms and stood on my tip toes, planting a gentle kiss on his lips. He placed a hand on my cheek and kissed me back, lifting me up with one arm as I squealed and giggled.  
“Happy New Year, Kagome,” he murmured in my ear, kissing my head.  
“Happy New Year, my love,” I replied, smiling broadly.  
“Kagome! Come back! We weren’t done bowling, silly!” Kira called from behind me. I took Inuyasha’s hand in mine and walked us back to our lane, meeting Kira, Lane, Sakura, Yuri, Akiri, and all of their boyfriends.  
“What did we miss?” I asked, taking a sip of my beer.  
“Just Yuri getting another gutter ball,” Akiri commented, poking the sulking Yuri in the side.  
“I hate bowling,” Yuri complained, her arms crossed over her chest. Saburo, her boyfriend, threw a comforting arm over her shoulder.  
“Oh, it’s alright. You’re doing better than Aito,” Inuyasha joked, pulling me down to sit on his lap. Aito was Sakura’s boyfriend, a somewhat nerdy looking guy with a big smile and glasses to match.  
Aito called, “Hey! You got four gutters last game!”  
“At least he threw the ball in the correct lane,” Daisuke interjected, recalling Aito throwing his ball into a different lane than the one he stood in front of the last game we played not once, but twice. Daisuke was Lane’s boyfriend, a big dopey jock that killed in beer pong.  
“He’s right, ya know,” Lane commented, earning a fist bump from Daisuke. “You’re up, Inuyasha.” He patted my leg and I stood, allowing him to get up to take his turn. He stretched his back for a moment and picked up his ball, lining himself with the front pin. He was basically winning against all of us, only him and Hansuke had a chance. Hansuke was Akiri’s boyfriend, a quiet and contemplative guy that was very talented at drawing. Hansuke sat next to Aito with his elbows on his knees, watching Inuyasha’s every move. Inuyasha pulled his arm back and got a fast walking start, letting the ball glide over his fingers, grace in every movement. As per usual in this game, he got a perfect strike, waltzing back over to me with a smirk. I smiled at him and shook my head, taking another sip of my beer.  
“Dammit, I’m convinced this isn’t your first time, man. I think you’re pulling our legs,” Raiden claimed, sitting back and running a hand through his hair.   
Kira giggled, “I don’t think he is, babe. He did this with skateboarding, too. Sometimes, you’re naturally good at things.”  
Inuyasha sat back down and pulled me back into his lap, wrapping an arm around my waist as he held his beer with the other hand. “Yeah. I’m naturally good at a lot of stuff. Just like you’re naturally good at getting the ball in the gutter. It takes talent to get it in there almost every time.” I stifled a giggle as Raiden crossed his arms over his chest, grumbling about bowling being stupid.  
I had met all of the girls in our group through school, whether that be old high school friends or college. I’d made fast friendships with each of them, while Inuyasha was harder to get through to. I didn’t expect anything different from him, but I could tell their feelings were hurt after a whole month of him giving all of them the cold shoulder.  
“They’re all so nice, I don’t understand why you have to be like that!” I exclaimed. We were facing off in the living room after yet another awkward hangout session.  
“What’s the big deal? Just because they’re your friends don’t mean they have to be mine,” he growled, crossing his arms over his chest. “Besides, what do I need friends for?”  
“Why can’t you just be friends with everyone? Don’t you miss having someone to talk to other than me? I know you miss Mir-”  
“This ain’t about him!” he suddenly shouted, glaring at me with the fire of a thousand suns in his eyes. Aware I’d hit a nerve, I crossed my arms over my chest, waiting for him to finish his outburst. “Don’t talk about how you think I feel! You don’t know nothin’!” He strode past me with purpose, grabbing his hat off of the hook beside the door and shoving it on his head. “Ya know,” he grunted as he opened the front door, “not everybody is as lonely as you.”  
The words stung and he knew it, but he turned around and marched out of the house, slamming the door behind him. I felt the tears welling and falling down my cheeks, staining the white shirt I wore. I slumped to the bathroom and turned on the shower, mulling over the words that he spat at me in anger. Did he think I wanted him to get over losing Miroku? Never in a million years would I expect him to do that. Miroku was his best friend. I knew what it was like after so long without Sango.  
After my boiling hot shower and curling under the covers for a good cry session, I heard the front door squeak open. He closed the door behind him gently, the faint click of the deadbolt sliding into place making my ear twitch. His tentative steps down the hallway to our bedroom gave away his impending anxiety. I heard him sniff the air just outside our bedroom and a sad sigh escape his lips. I wiped away the tears with my sleeve but stayed in my position facing the wall.  
He entered our room then there was deafening silence for a minute or so. I could see him out of the corner of my eye standing at the end of the bed, his ears were down and his aura sad and guilty. I wanted so badly to jump up and wrap him in a fierce hug, squeeze all the pain and loneliness out of him, but I knew if I didn’t stand my guard he would think he was off the hook for the mean things he said to me.  
He gave another sigh and began to undress, tossing his clothes in the hamper and slowly sliding into bed beside me. I could feel him watching me but I didn’t turn, I needed to wait for him to make the first move. I’d lay here all night if that’s what it took for him to see how he was wrong.  
Finally, as if he’d read my mind like he usually did, he very gingerly curled an arm around my waist and pulled my back to his warm body, emitting a soothing rumble in his chest that instantly relaxed my tense frame. “I’m sorry, Gome. That was a mean thing to say.” I turned over, finding his amber eyes staring down at me. “I know you’re just trying to help. I just…” He looked away, searching for the words. “...I think I miss everyone a lot more than I thought I did. I feel like if I like your friends and I get close to them…”  
“You think they’ll leave,” I stated. He nodded, his ears still pinned to his head.  
I placed my hand on his cheek, watching as his eyes melted and he leaned his face into my palm. “I know how much it hurt you to leave everyone,” I murmured, gently stroking his cheek. “And I can’t tell you how sorry I am. I can only tell you that these people are different. You just have to give them a chance.”  
I searched his eyes for a confirmation, and only found it after I kissed between his brows. He looked at me and gave me a single nod, leaning down and capturing my lips in a kiss.  
In the end, it was Hansuke that won by three points, victoriously cheering as we gave him our betted tokens for the arcade. Inuyasha and I had only bought five dollars’ worth so it wasn’t a huge loss. Aito had purchased thirty dollars worth of tokens, and he looked downright heartbroken about it. Hansuke, being the good sport he is, split the tokens with Aito and they had a blast for the next hour playing games.  
“So, how are you and Inuyasha?” Yuri asked, adjusting her adorable circle wire framed glasses.  
“We’re great, really. I’m still going to therapy and he just got a promotion at work. He’s the youngest head security guard they’ve ever had, so that’s really exciting.” I took a sip of my beer, feeling Akiri and Sakura’s eyes on me.  
“You know that’s not what we mean,” Sakura commented, smiling devilishly over the rim of her cup. “Spill the beans, ‘Gome!”  
I took a deep breath, feeling my cheeks blush. “Really, it’s nothing crazy!”  
“Oh, come on! This was a big milestone in your relationship and you won’t even tell us about it?” Akiri complained, giving me big eyes. Girl talk wasn’t really my forte, but I think I’d have to get used to it.  
“Uh, well. It was...good.”  
“Just good?” Kira asked, sitting down at the last seat at the table, a beer in one hand and a rum and Coke in the other for Akiri. “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry.”  
“Why are you sorry?” I asked.  
“Well, if it was just good...” Kira trailed off, sipping her beer.  
“I dunno what you mean,” I said, confused.  
“It usually doesn’t get much better if it’s just ‘good’ the first time,” Akiri commented.  
“Wait, does good not just mean ‘good’ anymore?”  
“No way, good means ‘Well, it was okay’. It’s nothing special if it’s just good,” Yuri interjected, her Coke hissing in her hands.  
“Oh,” I uttered, looking around the table and leaning forward with a sigh. “Okay, I’m going to tell this once then I will never tell it again. Deal? I’m not too keen on broadcasting my sex life to anyone, even you guys, but I’ll make the exception just this once.” They all nodded vigorously, leaning in closely to hear my tale of our passionate lovemaking. I took a breath and began, “It was amazing. I know I don’t have a lot of frame of reference but I can tell you that I came twice the first time, then three times when we did it again a few hours later. He knows how to work what he’s got, if you know what I mean. We’ve done it at least once every day since Christmas Eve and it’s only gotten better. I won’t tell you how big it is, but it sure isn’t small. I wore lingerie, he went down on me, offered to stop if I got uncomfortable, then told me how much he loved and appreciated me afterwards. Everyone should have sex like I do, because it’s better than anything you can think of.” They all stared at me with wide eyes, unable to make a funny comment or ask any further questions like I thought they would. Then without warning, we all simultaneously erupted in uncontrollable giggles.  
“Dammit, Kagome, you need to tell him to give our boyfriends a lesson!” Yuri cried, holding her sides as she laughed.  
“So not fair that Kagome’s the only one having consistently good sex,” Kira pouted, still giggling.  
I shrugged, finding it hard to empathize with their predicaments.  
“What’s everyone so giggly about?” Inuyasha questioned from behind me.   
He rested a hand on my shoulder and I looked up at him, only to release a series of giggles once again. Akiri spat out her drink as laughter bubbled inside of her, causing a whole different rouse of howling among us. My cheeks hurt, tears rolled down my face, and my stomach cramped but I couldn’t stop.   
Yuri started snorting and Lane cried, “Stop! I’m gonna pee!” She shot up and raced to the bathroom, Sakura following behind her.  
“Are they okay?” Raiden asked Daisuke, to which he shrugged.  
“Girls are weird,” Daisuke replied, sitting where Lane was.  
Inuyasha leaned in close to my ear and murmured, “So, everyone should be having sex like we do?” My eyes widened and my mouth gaped, utter shock washing over me. Oh, shit.  
Walking through the front door thirty minutes later, I assumed I would get the lecture of my life. How dare I gossip to our friends about our sex life? Something that was supposed to be sacred and only between the two of us. I placed my coat and purse on the hook, kicking off my shoes and walking towards the bedroom. Inuyasha suddenly wrapped his arms around me from behind and began kissing my neck, his fangs gently scratching. “Hearing you talk about our sex life with your friends should’ve made me angry,” he growled in my ear, pushing one hand up my shirt and the other in my pants. “But it made me want to take you home and show you how good it can really be.”


	16. Loving You

In the following months, our love grew like weeds. Finding out new things about each other was my favorite Sunday morning activity. We would lay in bed for most of the day on Sundays, making love, talking, eating, watching movies. It was paradise in our little bedroom.  
“Living in this time, do you ever think about doing something like going to school?” I lazily dragged my fingers up and down the hard planes of his bare back, his little mewls of contentment urging me to continue.  
“I dunno. I haven’t really thought about it, I guess,” he murmured, twisting a tendril of my hair in his fingers. “The only thing I really know is killing demons. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but you guys are fresh out of those.”  
“You’re so smart, though. You could really go places. Don’t you want to do something you really love? Something that makes you happy?” It almost concerned me that he didn’t have many goals outside of being with me and possibly having a family for the rest of our lives. He had so much passion and drive, he could do anything he wanted to. Obviously, I didn’t expect him to become a brain surgeon or a CEO, but knowing he has goals is the confirmation I needed to know for a fact that he was adapting to our new life together.   
He clicked his tongue, turning his head and looking at me. “I like my life. I enjoy what I do every day. I make people feel safe. There are a hundred other things I could do, I know. But I’m really okay with this, for now at least. It feels good to have a purpose and to love and care for someone other than myself, and be loved and cared for in return.” He gave me a gentle tug on the tendril in his hands, kissing over the pulse in my neck. “I never had the tools or the opportunity to love someone as I’ve come to love you, our friends, your family. My whole life has been one minute at a time. But, when I’m here, I can live one whole day at a time. Maybe I won’t know what happens tomorrow, but I know I can be here and feel good about how I live now. Coming home to a warm bed with the woman I love in it, waking up and having a purpose outside of just staying alive. If this is all I do for the rest of my life, I won’t be mad about it.” He looked deeply into my eyes, the love pouring from his heating my cheeks. “I don’t know what a hell-bound hanyou like me did to deserve you, but I’m going to count my blessings until the day I die.”  
Our discussions on our Sunday mornings weren’t usually so intense, but this stood as my favorite conversation I have ever had with him. It gave me a glance into that beautiful brain of his and how he felt being there with me. I wouldn’t love him any less if he stayed where he was, just living life day by day.  
When Valentine’s Day came around, I knew I had to do something special. It would be our first as a couple, and with the question of sex out of the way, I felt free to express how much I lusted for him.  
“How does it look?” Kira’s muffled voice came from the other side of the large pink dressing room door.  
“I’ve just gotta fasten this bra. I really hope he likes it,” I replied as I fished for the hooks connecting the bra in the back, the danger of doubt clouding my mind.  
“You could literally wear a potato sack and he would have a boner for you,” she replied flatly, causing a choked giggle to escape my lips.  
“Kira!”  
“What? It’s true! He’s constantly checking you out even when we’re all together.” She was silent for a few moments. “Did you get it clipped?”  
The satisfying click on my back gave me a bit of relief. If I couldn’t even get into it by myself, I had no reason to buy it. “Yep,” I replied, looking up at my reflection in the floor-to-ceiling mirror. The satin of the red bow that covered my breasts just enough to tease gleamed in the fluorescents. Just enough underboob and the nice crease where my breasts met on top made them look perky and sexy. The panties were the same, a satin red bow the size of my palm was tied in the front as well as the back, making me look like a present. They were crotchless, giving me a strange feeling I only got when I was naked, a breeze that made my skin tingle. I would use the red stockings I wore on Christmas, but I was also wearing a red lacy suspender belt that added a bit of drama to the whole outfit.  
“How is it?” Kira asked, a bit of excitement in her tone. “Lemme see!” I turned the lock so she could open it from the other side, ushering her inside. She came in and looked at me, her eyes widening and a smile gracing her features. “Hot momma! Where have you been hiding that bod?”  
I shushed her, attempting to dampen my impending giggles. “Do you think he’ll like it?”  
She looked at me, the of-course-dummy expression crossing her face. “He’d have to be either blind or an idiot not to like it, Kagome.” Kira ended up buying the exact replica of mine except hers was a deep midnight blue without the suspender belt.  
“Make sure you call me tomorrow with the details, sexy lady.” Kira winked at me as I made my way out of her car when she dropped me off at home.  
“I will as long as I can peel him off of me between tonight and tomorrow,” I purred, giggling with her as I waved goodbye.  
As I went inside, I got to work. Inuyasha would be home in two hours, just enough time to get the roasted pork with potatoes and green beans in the oven to cook and get ready. I snatched the pre arranged pork and veggies out of the refrigerator and preheated the oven, sliding the casserole dish in and sprinting to the bathroom.  
I wash, exfoliated, shaved, and moisturized until I was convinced I’d done everything I could. I swiped on a little pink eyeshadow, black mascara, and some red lip tint as I blow dried my hair, leaving it in loose waves down my back. I kept the lingerie in the bag in the back of the closet to ensure he wouldn’t see it before the time came for it to make its appearance. I dressed myself in the purple bralette and leather skirt, knowing he would go crazy for it.  
I had just checked on dinner and decided it needed another fifteen minutes or so when I heard the deadbolt slide in the door jam. I sprinted to the bedroom and slid my black heels on my feet and sprinted back just to see him walking in the door.   
It wasn’t until this moment I appreciated the small expanse of our home.   
He walked in the door, hiding something behind his back as he closed the door behind him and locked it. Looking up at me with a smile on his face, he pulled his hand out from behind his back. He had a dozen sad looking red roses in his fist, a sheepish look in his eyes.  
“I kinda forgot it was Valentines Day,” he admitted. “But, Raiden reminded me so I went to the store and got you these.” He held them out to me as I beamed at him, flattered that he even knew to get roses.  
“That’s so sweet! I wouldn’t have minded if you didn’t bring anything, though,” I assured him honestly, pecking his cheek and turning to find a vase in the laundry room. “You’re here and that’s all that matters.” I sauntered and swayed my hips a little extra as I walked, noticing his breathing change. “Why don’t you go take a quick shower? Dinner will be ready soon,” I called, finding the aforementioned vase in the cabinet above the washer.  
“Alright,” he replied hoarsely, his gentle footsteps retreating to the bathroom  
After the food was done and everything was plated nicely with some nice sake that we saved for special occasions, he came out of the bedroom dressed in only his hakama. It took me back to many days in the feudal era watching him work hard in the rice fields with the other villagers or strip down on a hot day by the stream. I would watch him without meaning to, the sweat glistening off his perfect shoulders and chest catching my eye when I meant to look away. He caught me a few times, giving me a strange look then a secret smirk before sauntering off towards the cool stream on the other side of the village.  
I attempted to ignore the feeling it gave me, knowing that he knew that I was a perv that all but drooled when he exposed his smooth and muscled flesh. It couldn’t be helped, he was a vision to behold and he was well aware of the effect he had on me.  
He smiled when he saw the food I carefully plated to look similar to that of something you’d see on the Food Network. “Wow, you really went all out.”  
“Tonight is special,” I shrugged, pouring him and myself a bit of sake. “It’s our first Valentine’s Day as a couple. We didn’t really celebrate the last time we were together.”  
“Yeah, I forgot that time, too.”  
I remembered that day vividly. I’d brought assorted candies, chocolates, and a few gifts for everyone from my time, watching as the look of abject horror crossed over Miroku and Inuyasha’s faces as they realized what day it was.  
“Oh, man, you forgot?” Shippo exclaimed to the men conversing nervously in the corner while Sango stared at the candy I pulled out of my bag.  
“No!” they shouted simultaneously, continuing their hushed conversation.  
“And this is the one I was excited to show you,” I murmured to the demon slayer in front of me, ignoring the stressed duo across the room. I pulled out the compact makeup palette out of my backpack and opened it for her, displaying the many pinks and nudes and a few shimmers pressed into squares.  
“Kagome, this is beautiful! Is it makeup?” She gingerly took it from my waiting palms, studying the colors with excited eyes.  
“Yes, it’s eyeshadow. You rub a little on your finger,” I took her free hand and pressed the pad of her index finger into the dusty pink color, “and you rub it on your eyelids. With the right colors, you can even use it as a blush for your cheeks.” I watched her as she looked into the mirror, hesitantly swiping the powder over her eyelid.  
She beamed at her reflection then at me, thanking me again and finishing her look on the other eye. The day before she had gifted me with a new quiver for my arrows, made from glossy bamboo and a heavy leather strap that held strong until the day I crossed the well for the last time.  
I showed her how to use the mascara tubes I gifted her as well and grabbed the other three gifts I had. I handed Shippo the fox plushie holding a red heart that read ‘I Love You’.  
“This is great, Kagome! Thanks!” He gave me a sweet hug and handed me the drawing he’d made with the crayons I supplied him. “I didn’t have any money to buy something but I thought you’d like this,” he stated. It was a cute drawing of him and I encased by a big red heart.  
I gave him my thanks and praise for how well his drawing was progressing, standing to walk over to the boys still talking in hushed tones.  
“Miroku,” I said softly, drawing his eyes back to me.  
He smiled nervously. “H-Hello, Kagome. We didn’t forget!” he blurted, stumbling over his words.  
I waved my hand while his gift stayed clutched in my other behind my back. “No worries, Miroku. I got you this.” I took his hand palm up, placing his gift inside.  
He held the brand new prayer beads in his hand gently, looking at them with genuine appreciation. “These are beautiful, Kagome. Where did you get beads of this quality?”  
“I found them in a religious jewelry store in my time and they made me think of you. Do you like them?” I asked. It had been quite the leap hoping he would like them, considering they were nothing like the ones that kept his wraps around his arm and hand. These were specially blessed by one of the priests Grandpa was good friends with, blessed with good fortune and pure endings. They were mossy green and black with a chain holding them together instead of thread so they would be extra durable.  
“I really do,” he replied, giving me a smile. “Thank you for such a thoughtful gift.” He took the cue and stood, walking over to Shippo and Sango to try the candy I brought.  
I looked at Inuyasha, his head hanging and ears drooping. “Inuyasha, are you alright? I brought you something, too.”  
“I-” he started, cutting himself off with a hand rubbing down his face. He looked at me, his eyes full of guilt. “I forgot.”  
“Hey, it’s okay,” I assured him, placing a tentative hand on his knee. “Not a big deal.” He tensed for a moment, but ultimately relaxed under my gentle touch. I didn’t expect him to react this way. He was always so stoic and normally uncaring of feelings concerning sentimentalities like holidays and gift giving.  
“No, it’s not,” he argued, his fist tightening around Tessaiga leaning on his shoulder. “You...You deserve better than that.”  
I could feel his anger at himself rising, so I grabbed his free hand. I opened it palm up as I did Miroku’s and dropped the locket. “It has a picture of us in it,” I breathed. This could go one of two ways and I favored him liking the gift. I didn’t dare look at him in fear he would have a look of disgust on his face. Instead, I studied his hand for a few moments. The skin of his palm and fingers was rough and warm, his fingers long and skinny. His hands always dwarfed mine, obviously, but I’d never taken a second to really take in the sheer size of them. We never held hands, and if we did, it was brief.  
His nails were long and pointed, so strong they could tear through just about anything. I assumed they would be yellow and dirty, but they were pleasantly white and clean. One thing I could say about Inuyasha, he cared about his hygiene for the most part. The little bit of his forearm I saw before the rest of it disappeared under his Fire Rat was lightly tanned, veins protruding a bit beneath the skin. Before I could stop myself, I ran my thumb delicately over the flesh of his wrist. His skin was soft and warm, I felt his pulse quicken under my touch.  
I looked up at him, immediately pulling my hands away in mild embarrassment of my actions.   
His eyes held an emotion I’d only seen in them a few times, when we had rare moments of intimacy like this. He blinked, clearing his throat and looking down at the locket I placed in his hand. He picked up the necklace with two fingers, studying the gold heart curiously.   
“Where did ya get a picture of us?” He figured out how to open it and stared at the picture I put in it.  
“Remember when Mom took pictures of us on Christmas? She got them developed and let me have a few.” The picture was of us on the couch, side by side and posing at the gentle probing of my mother.  
“Come on, you two! I don’t have any pictures of just you guys,” Mom said, standing in front of the TV to get our attention. I tore my eyes away from A White Christmas, letting out a sigh of mild annoyance.  
“Mom, Inuyasha doesn’t like-”  
“Let’s just do it,” he grumbled beside me, grabbing my leg and hoisting it over his, effectively scooting me closer to him.  
I gaped at him for a moment, shocked at his action. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and gently placed a hand on my bicep, holding me tightly against him.   
I swallowed, looking up at him.  
He was already looking at me, his eyes boring into mine. “Look at your mom,” he murmured, never looking away.  
I looked at Mom, choosing to ignore the bright smile on her face. “Give me a smile, Kagome,” she ordered, holding the camera up to her eye. I did as she said, my face splitting into a happy grin in the arms of the man I loved.  
In the picture, I looked normal with my wide grin and Santa hat adorning my head. When I looked at the hanyou beside me, my breath caught in my throat. His body was almost wrapped around mine, both of his arms encircling my waist protectively as he positioned himself to face me. My leg was draped across his thighs and my shoulder was pressed against his warm chest. I could see only half of his face, but it was all the confirmation I needed to finally understand how he felt about me, at least to some degree. His face was turned towards me, gazing down at me with the beginnings of a half smile quirking the corner of his mouth.  
The smile he reserved only for me.  
He said nothing, but motioned for me to put it around his neck. Happiness bloomed in my chest at the reaction, knowing without having to ask that he did like it. I took the locket back from him and unclipped the meeting hook and eye. He turned himself a bit so I had access to the back of his neck. Hesitantly, I gathered all of his thick silver hair that hung all the way down to the small of his back and draped it over his right shoulder, resisting the urge to run my fingers through the silky tresses. I reached around him to wrap the necklace around his throat, taking note of his tense figure. I looked over at the rest of our group across the room, entranced and well distracted by the candy still.  
Taking a leap of faith, I stood up on my knees and craned my neck around to his cheek, landing a gentle peck on the soft skin. “Happy Valentines Day,” I whispered, quickly clasping the necklace and retreating back to our friends. As I watched him throughout the night, I noticed he had the beginnings of a smile playing on his lips for the remainder of the evening.  
I woke with a start at the feeling of being rocked. No, carried. I pried my tired eyes open and looked up, immediately recognizing the scent of the surrounding forest. I was outside, the person carrying me was walking with my body cradled in their arms. I also recognized the almost stiff material brushing my cheek, Inuyasha’s Fire Rat. My initial fear dampened to a simmering frustration.  
“Inuyasha, it’s late. Why are we in the woods?” I croaked, confused.  
“Hush, go back to sleep. We’ll be there in a little bit,” he chided, tightening his hold on me.  
“Where?” I mumbled against his haori, feeling the comforting heat of his body and the gentle rocking sensation of his walking putting me back to sleep.  
“You’ll find out soon,” he murmured, nuzzling my cheek with his nose. “Go back to sleep, Gome.”  
After what felt like seconds, I was awakened once again. I opened my eyes and sniffled, rubbing them both with my fists. “Where are we?” I yawned, looking around us. We were sitting at the edge of a meadow of wildflowers, my body draped across his lap as he supported my back with his arm.  
“This is the best place to watch the sun come up,” he replied, gently taking me off of his lap and placing me on the ground beside him. It wasn’t until much later that I understood why watching the sunrise was so important to him. I knew he did it almost every morning, but I thought it was just because he was waiting for the rest of us to wake. “I’ll be back in a second, don’t move.” After placing his haori around my shoulders for extra warmth in the chilly air of the morning he took off, faster than lightning into the scene in front of us. He zipped all around the place in a blur of red and silver, pausing for barely a second just to turn around the other way. It lasted several minutes, the sky above us getting lighter.  
I gazed at the scene around me, realizing just how beautiful these flowers really were. They were still a little damp from the early morning frost that melted into dew, the rising sun casting a brilliant glow and offering subtle shadows to the untouched grass and flowers. I pulled my knees up to my chest and the jacket tight around my cold legs, my arms finding their way inside the huge sleeves, long enough to drape over my fingers.  
Suddenly, he was in front of me. From the knees down he was damp from running through the dew, but otherwise perfectly dry. He stared down at me, both of his hands holding something behind his back.  
“You cold?”  
I shook my head. “It’s just a little chilly. Wanna tell me why we’re here now?”  
He let out an impatient breath, looking away from me. A light blush formed across his cheeks. “I-” he paused, letting out a frustrated growl. “I didn’t mean to forget!”  
I looked at him, genuinely confused with his emotional outburst. “I know, Inuyasha. What does that-”  
“I wanted to get you something,” he interrupted gruffly. “I just...I didn’t know what, so I kinda gave up for a few days until I realized I’d forgotten. So,” he looked back at me, apprehension twisting his normally stoic features. “I got these.” He thrust his hand out, holding a bouquet of the wildflowers from the meadow behind him.  
They were a combination of brightly colored black eyed susans, poppys, and corn flowers, held together with twine. I gazed at the simple beauty of the kind gesture, a hundred thoughts running through my mind.  
His hand faltered a bit, a sad look crossing his features. “You don’t like them.” he began to put his head down, his ears following in a pitiful droop.  
I grabbed his wrist, standing up. “No! Of course I do! I...I love them.” My mouth opened and shut like a fish, unable to find the correct words. “They’re beautiful, Inuyasha. Really, thank you for going to the trouble.” I finished my sentence quietly, his head having come back up enough to look at me.  
He snorted, “No trouble.” He let down the facade that he blanketed his true personality with, his eyes filling with real joy. “You really like ‘em?” My hand was encircled by his larger one, still rough and warm despite the chill.  
I enjoyed getting to see this side of him. The gentle, sweet, affectionate side. A side he only showed when we were alone, or mostly alone. Usually, it happened when everyone went to sleep. At first, he would sit beside me with our shoulders touching and knees bumping with our movements. He’d hold my hand or allow me to lean against him while I slept or studied. Every once in a while when we’d had a particularly rough day or close call, he’d hold me in his lap or lay with me in my sleeping bag, my head on his chest and his arm around my waist. He was gruff and tough on the outside, but when we had those particular days, he craved someone to hold him in a comforting way. His personal space was very important to him, so I thought of it as an impromptu treat when he wanted to be in such close proximity to me.  
I placed my hand on his cheek, leaning in and giving him a sweet kiss. Only the second kiss I’d ever given him, but I believe it was warranted for the occasion. In the few seconds I felt them, I concurred he had the softest lips I’d ever felt. I’d expected them to be dry and chapped considering the cold weather, but I was wrong. They were warm and soft, a gentle cushion against mine. It was my favorite kiss to date. “I love them. Thank you, Yasha,” I whispered after our lips parted.  
I took the flowers home the following day and pressed them into a book about a love story from the feudal era with an extra copy of the photo we took together.  
Present:  
He took one last bite of his food, chewing and savoring the pork with a smile on his face. “You really outdid yourself, Kagome.”  
Pride swept through me, a smile forming on my face. “Yeah? I’m happy you liked it.” He grabbed both of our dishes and took them to the sink, rinsing them quickly before making his way back to me. He knelt beside me, easily turning my body still seated in my chair and pressing himself against me. A wet tongue darted out from his lips and gave me a gentle lick on the side of my neck, his hands rubbing my thighs. The hard planes of his chest were pressed firmly against my breasts as he lavished my neck with kisses and licks.   
“So,” he drawled, looking at me under hooded eyes, “how about we move this to the bedroom?”  
I looked back at him, biting my lip at how delicious he looked in this moment. Just so him, raw and strong and beautiful. He looked the same as he had the day I met him, a cocky smirk paired with bright amber eyes. His lips were pink and one of his fangs poked out just slightly under his upper lip. You wouldn’t notice it unless you were inches away, one of the two only physical imperfections on his god-like body. The other was a small nickel sized birthmark in the general shape of a triangle on the inside of his right thigh. They made me remember how human he was, if ever so slightly  
“Hold that thought,” I replied. I gently pushed back on his shoulders against the wishes of my needy body and stood, swaying my hips as I walked to the bedroom. “Stay here, I’ll tell you when to come in,” I instructed, smirking at the still kneeling man in the connecting dining room.  
On the outside, I hoped I came off as poised and sure. In reality, I was as nervous as I was the first time we kissed. Granted, there was a yokai playing as a celestial being trying to turn him into a full blooded yokai with a mirror behind me, but that’s besides the point.  
I wrung my hands and ran a hand through my hair as I closed the door, taking a deep breath and squaring my shoulders. ‘I can do this,’ my confidence shouted, even through my shaking hands and curses. I undressed quickly and grabbed the lingerie bag out of the closet, pulling out the contents and laying them on the bed. With shaky hands I placed the garments on my body, fearing with the wrong move the shiny fabric would tear. I kept my heels on, enjoying how much taller they made me. I was still at least two inches shorter than Inuyasha, but that was okay.  
Looking in my reflection and trying not to psych myself out, I adjusted the lingerie accordingly. It really was beautiful, looking past the sexual factor of the underclothes. The satin shone brightly in the gentle lighting, lace added a sort of wow factor that drew me to the set initially. I flitted around the room, lighting the dimly scented candles I knew he liked.  
A gentle rap on the door alarmed me, causing me to jump at the unexpected noise. ‘Get a grip,’ I chastised myself, my brain reminding me it was only Inuyasha. My sweaty palms and fluttering heartbeat did not cooperate with my steady breathing, causing a different wave of anxiety. What if my fear turned him off? Not fear of him, but fear of rejection. I took the few seconds I had and unleashed the calming aura around me, closing my eyes and breathing inside the purple barrier before whipping up the courage to say something to the hanyou on the other side of the door.  
“Gome? You okay?” his voice was only slightly muffled, but the calm if not a little worried tone calmed me further. I remembered who this man was, how much he loved me no matter what.  
I squared my shoulders once again, absorbing the barrier that encompassed me. “Come in.” My voice was more like a pur, remembering what was to come whether or not he hated the lingerie.  
The doorknob twisted and the door opened slowly, his body following. First, he took in the scene laid before him. Candles, gentle lighting, a trail of velvet rose petals leading to me. His glowing eyes trailed slowly up my body, leaving flames in their wake. A blush bloomed across his cheeks as he registered what I was wearing, his breathing hitching in his throat.  
He gasped, “God, Kagome.” His voice was exquisitely husky, an obvious tent rising in his hakama. “This has to be heaven. Have I really been that good?” He didn’t seem to be talking to anyone in particular, his gaze settled on the red bow across my breasts. He took slow steps towards me, reaching a foot back and kicking the door closed. A clawed hand reached out and gently ran a finger over the top of the bow, his nail skimming the swell of my breast. I shivered as the tingles erupted across my skin from my scalp to my toes. “Like a present,” he murmured, pinching the fabric between his calloused fingers. He looked up at me with molten lava and dirty promises behind his eyes. “My gift.”  
In a second I was on my back pressed against the mattress, only he wasn’t hovering above me. He stood at the end of the bed, his eyes drinking in the sight before him. He grabbed my ankles and pulled me further down until my core met his thighs. He placed one of my legs on the bed while he hoisted the other on his shoulder, pulling my heel off and running his hand down my leg. Just before he touched my hip he repeated the process with my other leg, keeping them both on his shoulders as he spread my knees apart.  
“I like the bows,” he commented, tugging gently on the one in the front of my thong.  
“There’s another on the back,” I replied, delighted at the excited smile gracing his features.  
He put my legs down and allowed me to turn over, my backside high in the air. His hiss and immediate hands placed on my hips gave me a whole different rush of heat directly to my core.  
“I think this one is my favorite,” he husked, his hand rubbing my lower back. I let out a moan at the magic his hands worked as they kneaded my tense muscles, throwing me into a relaxed period during this heated love session. A younger me would’ve been embarrassed of the puddle of goo I became at the hands of his massage skills, but this younger me had also never received a loving rub like this.  
The kisses trailed from my shoulder blades down to my hips brought me back down to earth, remembering why I was here in the first place.  
“As much as I love this,” he growled, “it’s gonna have to go.”  
I prayed he wouldn’t rip the pricey underwear, and to my relief he didn’t. He grabbed the waistband of my thong and pulled it down slowly, inhaling deeply as my core was exposed to him.  
“You smell amazing,” he whispered hungrily. I could feel his breath on my backside, coming in short pants.  
With a restricted vigor he pushed me forward onto my chest and spread my knees open. I held myself up a bit and looked down, finding him laying his head down on the bed below my core. He wrapped an arm around my hips and pulled me down, my labia coming in contact with his hot tongue. He swirled and nipped and sucked at the sensitive bud in my folds, his fingers sliding easily in and out of me. I tried to keep from grinding myself on his face, dipping in and out of ecstasy at the mercy of his mouth.  
“Ohhh, Inuyasha,” I whimpered, jerking at the feeling of his fangs grazing my sensitive flesh.  
He pulled back for only a moment to growl, “I need to be inside of you.”  
I obliged his request, sitting up and taking off my bra. As he slid inside me, I couldn’t help but think it fit so perfectly. Our bodies always fit perfectly.   
After having two mind numbing orgasms, we found ourselves in a tangle of naked limbs, seemingly unable to get enough skin-to-skin contact.  
His hips pounded into me hard, flesh slapping and his heavy breathing in my ear. We said nothing, unable to for coherent words through the haze of pleasure clouding our minds. Thoughts of my love and adoration for the man above me screamed in my mind. I love you, I love you, I love you!  
In the sleepy afterglow of our lovemaking, Inuyasha peppered my face and chest with kisses, his claws gently running along my belly. “Do you want to get married someday?”  
I imagined that. Absolutely. There’s no way he really asked me that.   
I said nothing, then he poked me in my side.  
“Oi, I’m talkin’ to you.”  
I looked at him, obvious shock on my face. “What?”  
He sighed impatiently. “Do you or not?”  
My heart began pounding. Was he asking me to marry him? “Are you-”  
His eyes widened, realizing the depth of his words. “I’m not proposing!” he exclaimed. He made a face, then continued, “Not yet, anyway.”  
I debated the question for a moment, mulling over his words. Placing my hand on his cheek, I looked into his molten eyes. “I’d marry you any day of the year, I think we both know that. Do you want to?”  
He looked at me incredulously. “Of course! I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want to. I love you, Kagome. I’d marry you any day.”


	17. New Advancements

“Kagome, you’ve hardly touched your food. Everything okay?” Yuri asked, concerned.  
I sat my tupperware back in my lunch bag, feeling nauseous like I had the day before. “I dunno. I’ve been feeling really nauseous lately. Probably just nerves. Graduation is next week so I think it’s just that.” It was already May, and I decided I was going to graduate early rather than wait for September.  
Yuri snorted, bringing her sandwich to her face, “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were pregnant.” Her head snapped up and she looked at me. “Are you?”  
My blood ran cold. My period has been late for a while, I was nauseous. I thought it was only due to stress. “Uh, I don’t think so?”  
“Well, have you been using protection?”  
“Uh, no.”  
“Why the hell not, Kagome?” Yuri demanded.  
“I don’t know, it just never happened! Oh man, am I pregnant?”  
Yuri placed her sandwich back in her plastic bag and packed her lunch back up. “We’re going to the drug store right now!” We raced to the nearest drug store, almost knocking down a man coming out as we were going in. I uttered an apology then followed Yuri to a specific aisle. “Here,” she opened the box and gave me both of the tests wrapped in plastic. “I’ll go pay, you go to the bathroom. I’ll meet you there.”   
I walked swiftly to the bathroom, feeling like I was going to be sick with nerves. I walked through the door and picked the farthest stall, locking it behind me and tearing open the first test. I pulled my pants down and sat, taking the cap off of the stick. After I did my business, I exited the stall and washed my hands, placing the test on the sink.  
“Did you get the results yet?” Yuri asked as she came through the door, leaning against the sink next to mine.  
“No, a minute and a half left,” I muttered, rubbing my hand down my face. “What did I do, Yuri? How could I have been so stupid?”  
“Everyone makes mistakes, Kagome! It’s alright. If you’re not, then now you know and you can take precautions. If you are...I’m going to be the best aunt ever.” I giggled with her then the timer went off.  
My blood ran cold as I tore my eyes away from Yuri to the test on the sink. I swallowed and took a deep breath as I reached for the stick with a trembling hand. I closed my eyes and picked it up, holding it in front of my face. I opened my eyes.  
Positive.  
My stomach dropped and Yuri gasped. I placed a hand on my belly, looking down. “What am I gonna do? How am I gonna tell Inuyasha?”  
On the walk home from work a few hours later, I contemplated how I would tell him about the baby. We’d never discussed kids really, since he came home with me we’ve been getting to know each other again. I tried to imagine a little quarter demon toddling along as Inuyasha chased after them, a big smile stretching his face. Maybe they would have his hair, or maybe his eyes. I jogged up the steps to our home, pulling out the key and shoving it in the door. Strangely, a beautiful savory smell hit my nostrils as I walked in the door, taking a deep breath. I smiled.   
“Inuyasha? Are you home already?” I placed my bag on the coat rack and kicked off my shoes, padding to the kitchen.  
Inuyasha stood at the stove in his hakama, no shoes or shirt to be found. His hair fell in a straight cascade down down his back and swished gently with his movements. He turned his head, a smile on his face. “Hey, how was work?”  
“It was...interesting. What are you doing home early?” I replied, hoisting myself on the counter on the other side of the sink. In the wok on the stove he was making chicken stir fry with rice in the cooker.   
“They let me go home a couple hours early; the new guy was done with his training and Banye came to work early.” He looked at me, concern etching his features. He put a clawed hand on my knee. “You alright? You look like you saw a ghost.”  
I bit my lip, gnawing while I pondered my words. “Well, there’s something I found out today. We need to talk about it.” I jumped off of the counter and made my way back to the living room, grabbing the test out of my bag. I held it behind my back as I came back, standing beside him. He turned off the heat and placed the lid on the wok, turning to me with curiosity and concern in his eyes. I took a deep breath and held out the test. He glanced at it then me, confused.  
“What’s this?” he asked, holding the stick in his hands.  
“That’s a pregnancy test,” I murmured. His eyebrows came together as he looked down at the test again, then back up at me.  
His mouth gaped open, eyes wide like saucers. “A-Are you...are you pregnant?”  
I cleared my throat as the lump rose, unsure of how he was going to react, “Yes, I am.” He stared at me for a while, his facial expressions shifting as thoughts raced through his mind. He then stared at the test, unmoving and silent. “Yasha? Please, say something,” I whimpered, tears welling. I prayed he wouldn’t be angry, or tell me to get rid of it. I don’t know what I’d do.  
He sniffled, and my heart dropped as I realized he was crying. “Really?” he asked hoarsely. “This is real?”   
The dam broke as my tears streamed down my cheeks, and he placed the test on the counter. He knelt to the ground, his hands very gently pushing up my shirt and placing them on my belly. His hands were as warm and calloused as they’d always been. He placed his forehead right below my navel and sniffled again, fat tears falling on my toes. I could feel his emotions through his hands, his aura passing through them into me. I then began to feel the type of elated happiness I could only imagine he was feeling.


	18. Breaking News

“Dammit, Kagome! We’re gonna be late!”  
“Since when are you so concerned with being on time anywhere? We’re always late to everything else. Besides, it’s a five minute walk! It’s only one thirty!”  
He sighed, annoyed. “I just wanna get there, okay? Now, come on! It’s an ultrasound, not a beauty pageant.”  
I grumbled, swishing mascara on my eyelashes one more time then screwing the instrument back into the tube. I slicked on some lip balm then stood, zipping my makeup bag and tossing it on the bed. I slipped my camisole over my shoulders and grabbed my purse, shutting the bedroom door behind me. “Okay, okay! I’m ready!” I exclaimed to the glowering half-demon by the front door. It had been a week since we found out I was pregnant, and Inuyasha was as overbearing and protective as he’s ever been. He was so excited to become a father.  
“Did you take your vitamins today?” He reminded me, shaking the bottle at me. I set my mouth in a straight line, gently taking the bottle and unscrewing the cap. I shook two pills out and took a big sip out of the water Inuyasha handed to me. I tossed the pills in my mouth and swallowed as I placed the lid back on the bottle, tossing it in my purse. He opened the door and let me out, smacking my butt as I walked past him. I tried not to smile as I walked down the steps, waiting at the bottom for him to close and lock the door. He patted his pockets, hissing. “I forgot my wallet. Hold on, I’ll be right back.” He disappeared into the house and I waited, checking my phone to see I had a text from Mom.  
Mom: Be sure to come over with the ultrasound pictures after your appointment! I’ll make you guys some dinner while you’re here. Love you xoxo  
Me: We’ll be over as soon as we get done, love you too!  
Mom was every bit as excited as anybody was when we came out with the news a few days after we found out. She immediately launched into grandma mode, knitting some hats and booties for the baby, yellow at my gentle request since we didn’t know the gender and wouldn’t for another month or so. She called our family, told them the news, gushed to all her friends that she was going to be a grandmother. Sota was jazzed that he was going to be an uncle, and Grandpa was utterly shocked. We went home in silence the night that we told them, hurt settling in both of our hearts. Inuyasha had noticed his reaction, and it saddened him deeply. Grandpa seemed unexcited, disappointed even.  
“Oh, honey, I promise he isn’t disappointed in the least!” Mom tried to assure me over the phone as I cuddled my Shippo on the couch. Inuyasha was making some cookies in the kitchen to cheer me up.  
“But, Mom, the look on his face said everything. He didn’t seem happy at all.” I worried my bottom lip with my teeth, hugging my Shippo closer.  
“He may have seemed that way, but it was a bit of a shock. We just didn’t expect it now, I think. If anything, Sota and I are so happy for you two. You will make the best parents,” Mom cooed, the warmth in her voice making my heart stir with longing for her touch.   
When I was upset like this when I was younger, she would take me in her lap and hold me close, humming as she stroked my hair and kissed my forehead. She would make me cookies and let me stay up with her to watch House Hunters. The only time in the past few years we had done that together was when Inuyasha and I were separated. She held my head in her lap as I cried into her belly, my arms wrapped around her waist tightly. She smoothed my hair and kissed my head, whispering into my ear that she was sorry and everything would be alright. She made me some double chocolate cookies and I stayed up with her as we watched cooking shows.  
As I hung up the phone with her, Inuyasha brought me the fresh out of the oven almond cookies that were shaped like flowers. He let me lay my head in his lap as he stroked my hair, telling me Grandpa would come around at some point. It wasn’t the same, but I appreciated his effort.  
“Alright, ready to go?” Inuyasha came back out of the house after a minute or so, locking the door behind him and jumping down the steps. He took my hand as we walked, the doctor's office just down the street. We walked in as the door chimed, the smell of alcohol and antiseptic invading my nostrils. I quite liked the smell, it was clean and bright. Inuyasha wasn’t a fan, wrinkling his nose and clearing his throat.  
“Hello, how may I help you?” asked the female nurse sitting at the desk in front of me.  
“I’m here for my appointment. Kagome Higurashi?” I answered. She took the glasses that dangled around her neck and perched them on her nose, clicking a few things on the computer in front of her.  
She smiled and looked at me, “Yes, two o’clock?” I nodded. “Alright,” she grabbed a clipboard from beside her and placed a few sheets of paper under the clip, handing it to me with a pen. “Fill these out and we will call you back shortly, okay?” I nodded again and thanked her, walking to a pair of chairs behind us. We both sat down and Inuyasha twiddled his thumbs as I filled out the sheet.  
He glanced over at the sheet in front of me and wrinkled his nose. “That’s a lot to fill out. What’s the point?”  
“They need to have an idea about your previous health so if there’s anything wrong they have something to reference,” I murmured, checking the box for ‘Currently Pregnant’. I had just gotten through the last of the questions when they called me back, Inuyasha following close behind me. The nurse weighed me and measured my height then took me back to an exam room. After confirming I was taking prenatals and taking my blood pressure, she left momentarily to grab the ultrasound machine. I laid on the table as Inuyasha stood beside me, rubbing my hand with his and looking around. “Hey,” I called softly, squeezing his hand. “You okay?”  
He shrugged, squeezing me back. “Yeah, fine. Just…” he looked away, “...a little nervous, I guess. I just hope the baby is okay.”  
I looked at him, my eyebrows drawing together. “Why wouldn’t they be?”  
“I dunno, I’m just...concerned, I guess,” he answered, placing his hand on my belly.  
I placed my hand on his cheek. “Honey, there’s nothing to be concerned about. I feel great, I haven’t bled or felt any pain. Everything is fine, I believe I would know if there was something wrong.” He nodded, leaning his cheek into my hand. The nurse quietly knocked and opened the door, bringing the machine in on a cart.  
“Okay, are we ready to see a baby?” she asked cheerfully, looking at both of us. I nodded, pulling my shirt up to expose my belly. “Alright, this might be a little cold,” she warned, squeezing the goo out onto my stomach. I flinched a bit and Inuyasha squeezed my hand, glaring at the bottle in the nurse’s hand. She turned on the machine and grabbed the wand, placing it on my belly and moving it around. “Ope, there it is,” she said, pointing to the spot on the screen that looked like a kidney bean. Kidney bean or not, that was my baby. Inuyasha leaned over me a bit, getting a closer look at the screen.  
“Wow,” he whispered. “It looks like a bean.”  
I giggled, “That’s exactly what I was just thinking.” I looked up at him, noticing how his eyes softened, his mouth agape. “That’s our baby,” I murmured, rubbing my thumb up and down his hand.  
“That’s our baby,” he repeated, his lips curling into a smile. He looked at the nurse. “How old is it?”  
She looked at the screen again, pushing a few buttons. “Looks like you’re measuring at about twelve weeks, give or take a few days. So, in four weeks you can find out the sex. Would you like to hear the heartbeat?” Inuyasha nodded vigorously as the nurse pushed another button, “It’s going to sound fast but that’s normal. Kind of like a train.” The sound of our baby’s heart filled the small space, beating strongly.  
“Wow,” I whimpered, tears welling in my eyes. “This is real, isn’t it?”  
“Very real,” the nurse assured, giving me a kind smile. “They look nice and strong, maturing at the rate they should. Would you like some pictures before the doctor comes in?” The nurse handed me a wet wipe to get the goo off of my belly as she printed the pictures out of the machine. Inuyasha took them as soon as they were printed, staring at them with the same melted eyes and small smile. I sat up as we waited for the doctor, peeking over Inuyasha’s arm to look at the pictures. I’d have to cut a couple off for Mom, they gave us almost a dozen. A gentle knock shoved us out of our stupor and we looked at the door as the doctor came in.  
“Kagome, how nice to see you again. Congratulations,” she smiled, opening the file in her hands and looking at it. “Everything looks good, baby is healthy. Twelve weeks, about the size of a passion fruit.” She looked up at Inuyasha then back down at the sheet in her hand. “Dad, we have no health file on you. That’s kind of important in case you have any ailments on either side of your family that we need to look for.”  
“My parents were perfectly healthy and so am I,” he retorted, crossing his arms and staring at her.  
“That’s great, but we still need a record. You need a basic check-up at least so we can proceed with the notion that we have nothing to worry about,” she fired back, unwilling to deal with his attitude. I bit back a smile, watching them as they faced off.  
He rolled his eyes. “Whatever, do what you need to.”  
“Alright, we’ll do it right now,” she replied, beginning the exam. She took his pulse, blood pressure, did an eye test, reflex test. “Okay, everything looks great, but we’ve got one more test to do. I don’t know if you want to do this with or without Kagome in the room, but I need to check your testicles.”  
“My what?” he gasped, exasperated with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. “You’re not touching my balls, lady.”  
She sighed. “I can get a male doctor but that could take a while. Not a lot of those in this office. That’s the last thing then we’re done.” She crossed her legs and stared at him, waiting for his answer.  
“I’m gonna go check out, meet you in the waiting room?” I offered, getting off of the table and grabbing my purse off of the hook.  
“Yeah, alright,” he grumbled, already unbuckling his belt as I closed the door behind me. As I was signing out, I heard him yelp, “Fuck, your hands are cold! Are you done yet! There’s only two of ‘em!” I stifled the bubbling laugh as I scheduled my next appointment for a month from now. Just as I was walking through the door into the waiting room, Inuyasha strode out of the exam room and caught up to me. “We’re leaving, let's go,” he grumbled, grabbing my hand and walking out of the office.  
Arriving at Mom's house forty minutes later, I was still giggling internally at his glaring eyes. “Oh, come on, Inuyasha. It couldn’t have been that bad!”  
He glanced at me, knocking on the front door. “It would’ve been fine if her hands weren’t made of ice and she didn’t have to touch ‘em for so long. Her hands were on my balls for, like, two minutes!”  
“What about your balls?” Sota said as he opened the door.  
“Inuyasha got his balls touched at the doctor,” I snickered, walking past him to the living room.  
“I’ve never felt more violated,” he muttered, sitting on the couch next to me.  
“Oh, wait till you’re forty, boy. That’s when the real fun begins,” Grandpa assured him, shuddering.  
“Let’s see them!” Mom squealed, her knees bouncing with excitement. I reached in my purse and carefully took them out, unfolding them and placing them in Mom’s waiting hands. She held them up, staring at them with a look of adoration. “Goodness, do you see that, Dad?” she held the pictures in front of him and he squinted, then deciding to reach in his chest pocket and take out his glasses. He took them from her and looked at them, a small smile playing on his lips.  
“Well, looks like a bean,” he proclaimed, handing the photos to the nearly vibrating Sota.  
I let out a chuckle. “That’s what we said.”  
“How old is it?” Sota asked, looking at the pictures closely.  
“Twelve weeks, she said. We get to find out what it is at the next appointment,” Inuyasha answered with such pride it made my heart leap. “I hope it’s a boy.”  
“I hope it’s a girl,” Mom and I said in unison. I looked at her. “Why do you want a girl?”  
“They have much cuter clothes, and they usually don’t pee on you,” she deadpanned. She pointed to Sota. “He peed on me nearly every time!”  
Sota scoffed, “Mom,” as I held my belly with cramping laughter.  
A timer went off in the kitchen and Mom went to investigate how her roast was doing in the oven. I stole a glance at Grandpa, the pictures somehow coming back to his grasp. His face was stoic but a certain gleam in his eye gave me hope that maybe, just maybe, he was happy.  
After dinner, Inuyasha and I walked arm in arm back home, chatting about the day we had. “I still can’t believe she touched my balls. I’m going to have PTSD from it,” Inuyasha complained, ignoring my snort.  
“Screw your balls, when are we going to tell our friends?” I asked.  
He pursed his lips, thinking to himself. “I dunno, when do you want to?”  
“Should we wait until the next appointment?”  
He scoffed, “I sincerely doubt you can keep it a secret for that long. You hang out with all of your girlfriends at least twice a week. You’re already showing, for god's sake!” I placed my hand on my slightly rounder belly. He was right, soon I would be showing so much I wouldn’t be able to conceal it.  
“Next week?” I offered, looking up at him.  
He nodded. “Sounds good to me.”


	19. Second Time's The Charm

The next week didn’t drag as I had expected it to. It was fast, getting acquainted with my new job as the IT Personnel at a tech company a few blocks down from where Inuyasha worked. Graduation was a cinch, there was a brief ceremony with only forty people graduating early. I breezed into the first few days of my job, genuinely feeling at home there. My boss was a woman named Yua Wantanabe, she had four kids; a set of triplets and a young son and her husband was a stay-at-home dad. She had a calm and kind aura that radiated from her at all times, even in stressful and frustrating moments. On Friday as I was leaving work, I asked her a question.  
I was walking by her office, knocking and poking my head in for a moment to say goodbye. “Hey, Yua, I’m done with everything so I’m out for the day. Just wanted to say bye.”  
She looked up at me, dark freckles sprinkled across her cheeks. Her eyes were tired but her smile was bright. “Hey, Kagome. Great job this week, you’ve really gotten the hang of everything. Have a good night.” She looked back down at her desk, a tendril of her dark wavy hair falling out from behind her ear.  
I looked at her for a moment debating my next words carefully, “Hey, are you doing okay? You seem a little...out of sorts.”  
She pursed her lips and looked up at me, her eyes still tired. “I’m okay, just a little stressed and tired. Tai has been teething really bad lately, the girls are swamped with last exams so they’re all stressed. It’s all just...tiring.” She shook her head, chuckling to herself and running a hand through her hair. “It’s a lot, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Isuke is an amazing father, picking up where I lack and vice versa. It’s just a bit much sometimes.”  
“Well, if it makes it better, you’re also a great boss. I wouldn’t trade you for a jar of pickles,” I smiled, referencing an inside joke that was established on my first day.  
She smiled at me, her eyes bright and her cheeks pink. “Thank you, Kagome. Same here. Goodnight.” I sent her a small wave and made my way down the hall and to the elevator, shaking off some jitters for tonight.  
Waiting in the lobby was Inuyasha, still in his work uniform. He stood as he saw me, a smirk forming on his face. As I reached him, I held my hand out for him. “Ready for tonight?”  
“I’m ready if you are,” he replied, wrapping his hand in mine as he rubbed my ever growing belly. We were meeting all of our friends at a pizza place in a couple of hours, just enough time to get home, shower, change, and fetch the bus. We walked home and talked about how my first week had gone, the good, bad and ugly about my new job.   
“I really like my boss. She’s really nice and has a good aura. She’s married and has four kids, her husband stays at home with them. I really like my job, too. Nobody bothers me too much. Waryun brought in cupcakes this afternoon for Signa’s birthday. Are you excited for Monday? First day as Security Manager,” I asked, smiling up at him with pride.   
This was the second promotion he’d gotten in just a year, and I couldn’t be more proud. He was so good at his job and adapted really well to his role. Initially, his job was to stand at the metal detectors and make sure nobody brought in weapons or anything. A few months into it, a guy came in with a gun, dead set on robbing the place and possibly killing anyone that got in his way.  
He came in, gun drawn with a ski mask over his face. Inuyasha stood guard at the door, unknowingly becoming the man’s first and only barrier. The man shouted, “Let me through or I’m going to shoot you! Right now!”  
Inuyasha stared at him, his famous scowl etched into his face and arms crossed over his chest. “No you won’t, you coward.”  
The man gawked at him, speechless for a moment. “I-I have a gun!” he squawked. “I’ll hurt you if you don’t let me through!” The teller had watched this happen, ducking below the counter and hitting the 911 Lockdown button. The doors behind Inuyasha and the ones behind the man locked, making it impossible for anyone to get in or out. The man aimed his gun, fear in his eyes, “Let me in right now and nobody gets hurt, man!”  
“You shoot that thing in here and it’s the last thing you’re ever gonna do, understand?” Inuyasha growled, reveling in the stench of fear now radiating off of the robber in front of him. “The cops are gonna be here in a minute, you may as well put it down before you put your eye out.” The man dropped the gun, reaching behind him and pulling out a knife. “Oh, tough guy, are ya? Come on then, come at me,” Inuyasha egged him on, spreading his feet and fisting his hands.  
“I’ll kill you!” the man cried, charging at Inuyasha.   
He was soon thrown to the ground on his stomach, his nose bloody and a dazed look in his eyes. Inuyasha pulled out the zip ties and tied his hands together behind his back, standing and waiting for the police to arrive. The man had swiped his bicep with his knife, blood trickling slowly from the wound. The only teller in the building called me as soon as the police left. I was at home so I rushed over there.  
“Are you insane!” I shrieked, walking briskly to Inuyasha sitting in a chair in the lobby getting his arm wrapped by a medic. “You told him to ‘Come at you’!” I repeated as the teller had told me on the phone, adding air quotes. “He could’ve killed you!”  
“Would ya quit your shouting, woman!” He glared at me, placing a hand on top of his ears under his ball cap that read ‘SECURITY’. “I’m fine! Just a little scrape, he wasn’t gonna kill me.”  
“You don’t get to tell me to calm down! You could’ve been seriously hurt!” I warbled, tears gathering in my eyes. He’d been close to being killed countless times in the past, but I was there to heal him those times. “What if he’d shot you?”   
Inuyasha stood, shaking his head and wrapping his good arm around my back, letting me weep into his chest.  
“Come on, wench. Give me a little more credit,” he murmured into the top of my head. He pushed me away a bit, placing a hand on my cheek. “I’m fine, okay? I-” He paused, wiping a tear from my cheek with a clawed thumb. “I’m sorry I scared you. Comes with the job, I think.” Now, he was head of security at the largest bank in Tokyo. He even carried a gun. Not like he would need it, anyway.  
I unlocked the front door, Inuyasha following behind me. “Yeah, it seems pretty cool,” he replied, hanging his hat up on the rack. “Same thing I’m doing now, but better pay and I don’t have to train idiots.”  
“Bensing wasn’t an idiot, he was eighteen,” I scolded, hanging up my purse and kicking off my sandals. “You didn’t have to make him cry, ya know.”  
“Maybe if he wasn’t an idiot, I wouldn’t have been able to make him cry,” Inuyasha fired back, unbuttoning and untucking his shirt. I rolled my eyes, briefly admiring his lean abdomen. Inuyasha had found a gym nearby that has enough room to run, jump, climb, lift heavy things, and it has a sauna. He’d been beginning to put on a couple of pounds, putting an end to it as soon as it started.  
“Just because I eat a lot, doesn’t mean I wanna look the part,” he informed me as he got ready to go to his gym for the first time.  
“I support it,” I agreed as I sat on the bed eating my pickles. I agreed completely for my own selfish gain. I loved how he looked, lean and muscled.  
“Wanna shower?” Inuyasha asked, unbuckling his belt as he kicked his boots off.   
He smirked, walking to the bathroom and smacking my butt as he passed. I looked back at him, shedding my dress as I followed him. I closed the door behind us as he turned on the water, placing my hands on his chest and kissing his neck. He sighed softly, wrapping his arms around me and unhooking my bra. I pulled down my underwear as he did and let my hair down, sighing at the tightness of my bun being released. Inyasha gently combed through my locks, kissing me gently. I pulled away and grinned at him, opening the shower curtain and stepping in under the hot water. I closed my eyes as the water ran down my body, all the kinks and coiled muscles loosening from sitting most of the day.   
Inuyasha stepped in behind me, placing his hands on my shoulders and rubbing firm circles with his thumbs. I hummed with pleasure, reaching back and grabbing his member. I tugged gently, feeling as the blood rushed to the appendage in my hand. He growled deeply, his whole body humming. He slid a hand down my back and around to my belly, rubbing a thumb across the bump before diving between my thighs. His fingers found the bundle of nerves, earning a pleased moan from my throat. I turned around, wrapping my free arm around his neck and crashed my lips into his, hungry for him. He licked my bottom lip and nipped it gently when I didn’t give him entrance. I kissed him open-mouthed, loving the feeling of his tongue wrestling with mine. The heat from something other than the shower rushed to my cheeks and lower abdomen as his fingers pleasured me in circular motions. I stroked his erection harder, tightening my hand as he groaned into my mouth. He kissed down my jaw to my neck where he sucked and nipped lightly, rolling his tongue across the sensitive flesh. He leaned down a bit and wrapped his hands around the back of my thighs, picking me up and pushing my back against the wall.  
Heat coursed through my veins as I thought about what would happen next, happy as ever for it to be the man I love to have this experience with once again. He positioned himself then thrust inside me quickly, groaning into my neck. I cried out with pleasure, feeling I was already near my own end. He pounded into me, whispering dirty nothings into my ear in between kissing my neck and nipping my earlobe. I thrust a hand into his wet hair, pulling gently as my core tightened. I cried out as the waves of my orgasm crashed into me, feeling Inuyasha’s simultaneously. We stayed there for a few minutes, breathing and touching each other. My fingers found his ears, caressing them softly as he traced patterns on my bicep with his claws. I ran my hand up and down his back as he gently massaged my scalp. I placed tender kisses on his collarbone as he rubbed my belly, speaking soothingly to our baby.  
We showered quickly after that, realizing how much time we’d spent not actually showering. I applied my makeup as I dressed, only in a bra and shorts with my hair in the towel. Inuyasha ransacked our closet trying to find his sneakers in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt slung over his shoulder. We finally dressed and made our way out the door, almost running to the bus stop. We jumped on right before the bus driver closed the door, taking our seats in the back. Inuyasha sat me next to the window while he sat in the aisle seat, throwing his arm around the back of my seat and talking to me about our upcoming appointment.  
“What should we name it?” he asked, brushing some lint off of his shirt.  
“Uh, I dunno. I can’t really make that decision by myself,” I answered.  
He nodded. “I get that, but don’t we both get a say in it?”  
“Obviously,” I replied, chewing on my lip as I thought. I smiled at the idea that crossed my mind. “How about for a girl, Izayoi?”  
Inuyasha halted breathing, slowly turning and looking at me. He stared for a while, his eyes searching mine for the joke or Gotcha! moment. It never came, so he smiled, his eyes glistening for a moment before he cleared his throat. “Yeah, I’d like that.” He blinked a few times, his fist coming up to rub his eyes. “For a boy, how about Hiroshi?”  
As my father’s name blew past his lips, I had to blink away the tears. Sneaky bastard, he’d already thought about this. I simply nodded with a wide smile that hurt my cheeks, knowing any words leaving my mouth would be followed by tears. He kissed my head and absentmindedly rubbed my belly, watching out the window. With over twenty minutes left in our ride, I stroked his hair, thinking about how it would look braided. “Let me braid your hair,” I murmured.  
He looked at me, “Why?”  
“It would look nice,” I replied.  
His mouth twitched as I stared at him with the saddest eyes I could muster. He sighed and turned his back to me, allowing me full access to his hair. I brushed it gently with my fingers and sectioned it, folding the sections over top of each other from the nape of his neck all the way down to the end. I became jealous of his soft and luscious hair. It never seemed to tangle very badly or split at the ends.  
By the time our stop came up, I had tied the end of the braid with my elastic and trailing behind him watching it swish across his back as he walked off of the bus. Standing in front of the pizza place, he grasped my hand, looking at me for the OK to go inside. I took a deep breath, closing my eyes and fisting and opening my hands as I visualized the bad energy fall out of my palms and into the sidewalk. I looked back at him, nodded, and followed him into the parlour.


	20. And Then There Were Two

“You made it!” Yuri cried, standing up from the table and running to hug me. I hugged her back tightly and she pulled away, discreetly looking down at my belly and smiling. She gave a gentle rub and winked at me, trotting back to the table where our other nine friends awaited with smiling faces.  
“Sorry we’re late, traffic was a terror,” I apologized, sitting in one of the two open seats between Akiri on my right and Saburo on Inuyasha’s left.  
Inuyasha sat down beside me and hung an arm off of the back of my chair, helping himself to a piece of cheesy bread sitting in a basket in front of him.  
“Not too late, we haven’t ordered the pizzas yet,” Akiri replied, looking over the menu as Hansuke picked at his nails.  
“How’s your new job going?” Sakura asked me from across the table, sipping her glass of wine.  
“It’s great, really. My boss is awesome and my coworkers are great,” I answered, smiling. “Anything new with anybody lately? I feel like we haven’t been out like this in months.”  
Kira piped up, “Well, we finally set a date for the wedding. Everyone should be getting their invites in a couple of weeks.” Raiden smiled brightly and kissed her head, turning back to Aito to finish their conversation.  
“That’s awesome!” I replied, my heart swelling with happiness.  
Kira and Raiden have been dating since middle school, only breaking up a few years ago because Raiden had to move to Ireland for his Dad’s job. We were sophomores in high school so obviously it was a huge deal at the time. Kira was heartbroken, idly moving through the world like she was looking for something for months. She eventually got back to her old self, but she refused to date in fear that he would come back to her and she wouldn’t be there.  
He came back a few weeks after graduation, leaving his family in Ireland so he could be with Kira again. They’ve been in love and inseparable ever since.  
“What about you, Kagome? It’s been radio silence for, like, two weeks,” Lane asked.  
“Oh, mine can wait till later. Let’s talk about Kira and Raiden’s wedding!” I diverted the conversation in fear of my surprise coming out too early.   
We planned to tell everyone at the end of dinner so the baby wouldn’t be the only topic of conversation. We were still people, except now we were two people having a baby. No need for a big fuss.  
“I can’t tell you how tired I am of picking out decorations and shit already,” Kira complained, leaning back in her seat. “Did you know there are two-hundred and fifty-six shades of purple? I just wanted freaking lavender and I had to go through the whole color wheel to get it!”  
“Don’t you have help?” Yuri asked, taking a bite of her cheese bread.  
“Yeah, my mom. But, she’s not exactly the best helper when she’s bursting into tears every five minutes about how ‘Her baby is growing up!’ I swear, if she wasn’t my mother I would’ve throttled her by now.” Kira took a big sip of her beer, setting it back down on the table and diving into the talk of flower arrangements.  
At some point, the server came by and we ordered our pizzas then settled into our own conversations.  
“Come on, tell me your news! I can’t handle the waiting!” Akiri murmured to me. “Also, why aren’t you drinking?”  
“Uh-” I froze, pleading with my brain to come up with an excuse that doesn’t involve being pregnant. “I’ve uh, got an early day tomorrow. We’re...repainting the kitchen and living room! Yep, we’ve gotta be up really early.”  
“Hm, okay. But that still doesn’t tell me what you’re hiding.” She looked at my hair. “Did you get your hair done? It’s really shiny. Not like it wasn’t before, but it’s, like, really shiny now.”  
“Nope, new shampoo,” I answered quickly, stuffing a bread stick in my mouth.  
I prayed my shirt would hide my bump long enough for this dinner to end, the material was just barely concealing it. “Didn’t you get a new puppy?” I asked, aiming to redirect the conversation.  
“No, we’ve had Hiro for, like, six months. It must be a pretty crazy secret.” She looked at me pointedly, her eyes scanning my body. “Did you get a tattoo or something?”  
“Hey, Akiri, didn’t your brother just graduate? What school is he going to?” Yuri saved me with a sly grin, turning her attention back to Akiri as she replied.  
I let out a breath, thank God for Yuri.  
By the time the pizza came and went, we were all sitting around and talking about our five year plans.  
“Well, obviously, we’ve been saving for a few years to get a house of our own. Maybe by then we’ll have a house, a kid or two, a dog, maybe,” Sakura voiced, Aito nodding along with her.  
“I definitely wanna travel to every country in the next five years,” Daisuke replied. “Kids drag you down, man. It’s impossible to still have fun when you’ve got a drooling and crying poop-factory hanging on your leg.” For whatever reason, his proclamation stung. It wasn’t just me, Inuyasha’s body language changed. He sat back and crossed his arms over his chest, glaring daggers at his friend. To add insult to injury, he went on. “I mean, seriously. They’re expensive, they cry a lot, they have a ton of shit so if you ever wanted to go somewhere, you have to bring it along with you. If you want to go out for the night, you have to pay some teenager to watch your kid and hope they don’t die. I’ll never have kids, man. What’s the point?”  
Yuri looked at me and shot into action. “Come on, Dai. Kids can be cool. A lot of people have kids and still live normal lives. It doesn’t have to disrupt everything.”  
Lane shook her head. “I’m gonna have to agree with Daisuke. Kids are annoying, they stink, their hands are always sticky. I don’t ever wanna have kids. I wouldn’t even be a good aunt.”  
My blood was boiling and Inuyasha was all but growling. His hands were gripping the arms of his seat and his knee was bouncing. Saburo looked over at him then at me, his eyes flicking back and forth for a few moments before a look of realization crossed his features.  
“I think this is all relative,” Hansuke added, unknowingly becoming my favorite person at the moment. “Kids can be cool, you just have to give them the right tools to live their lives in the right way.”  
Daisuke scoffed, “Look at the world right now, man! You’d have to be a complete dumbass to bring a kid into the shitstorm that’s brewing.”  
“Shut the fuck up, Daisuke,” Saburo barked. “You’re drunk and you’re being an ass.”  
Daisuke glared at him, taking a long sip of his beer. “Screw you, Sab. It’s not my fault that you people are so sensitive. It’s not like any of us have kids.”  
I shot up from my seat, my hands shaking and my jaw clenched so hard it felt like my teeth would break. “I guess you don’t know everything, do you Dai?” I looked at all of our friends with their shocked and confused faces and pulled my shirt taut against my bump. “I guess we can come out now and tell you guys that we’re having a kid, so why don’t you shut the fuck up for once in your life?” My voice shook but my anger fueled me, pushing words from my gut with intense bravery I didn’t know I possessed.   
Daisuke turned white and Lane looked like she was going to jump up and run out of the restaurant from embarrassment. I watched my friends faces morph into shock, confusion, then excitement. I couldn’t smile, I was too busy seething with anger at Daisuke and Lane.  
“Kagome, I didn’t-” Lane started, her shaking hand reaching across the table towards me.  
“No!” I exclaimed, watching as she shrunk back. “You two act like you’re so much better than all of us just because you don’t want to settle down! All you want to do is be teenagers for the rest of your lives and bring everyone down with you. Well, you know what?” I locked eyes with Daisuke who was trying to avoid my gaze. “You’re just a couple of alcoholics with a complex, you’re no better than the rest of us, so get over yourselves.” I gathered my purse as Inuyasha stood, keeping a level eye with Lane. She shrunk down in her seat, obviously too embarrassed to offer a rebuttal. “If anyone else would like to, you are welcome to come over and help us celebrate the start of our new family. If not, then whatever.”  
“We’re coming,” Kira replied, gathering her takeaway box and purse, Raiden following behind her.  
Yuri and Saburo stood at the same time as Akiri and Hansuke, providing us with the support that I would forever be thankful for.  
“You guys should be ashamed of yourselves,” Sakura hissed, standing and following our group out to the street.  
“Come on guys, we didn’t mean it!” Lane called, her face crumbling as she watched us leave them behind.  
“Do you guys want a ride? We drove Hansuke’s van,” Akiri offered, sliding her arm through mine and giving me a smile that helped to put out the fire in my heart.  
“That would be great,” Inuyasha replied, lacing our fingers together.  
Inuyasha sat in the front seat beside Hansuke and talked about the new gym he was going to while Akiri and I sat in the back and talked about the baby.  
“When did you find out?” Akiri asked excitedly, reaching forward and placing her warm hand on my belly.  
“Two weeks ago. I was at the preschool and Yuri took me to get the test.”  
“How far along?” she inquired, pulling her hand away and shifting her knees to face me with her chin balanced on her palms.  
“Thirteen weeks now, we go back in three to find out the sex,” I replied, looking up at Inuyasha and smiling. I dropped my voice low and leaned closer, “He’s so excited. He even cried with happiness when I told him.”  
“Wow, Inuyasha cries?” Akiri joked, earning a snort in return. “No, but seriously. I’m so happy for you guys, you’ll be awesome parents.”  
“I really hope so,” I murmured, looking down and rubbing my belly.  
Arriving home, Yuri and Saburo were waiting outside with Kira and Raiden, talking animatedly about something. Hansuke parked his van across the street from the house, stepping out of the driver side and lighting a cigarette.  
Inuyasha stood beside him, wrinkling his nose. “Nasty, you still smoke?”  
Hansuke took a long drag, nodding. “Unfortunately, yes. These are harder to quit than I thought.”  
We walked across the street to our waiting friends as I dug my keys out of my purse.  
“No way! I wanna throw the baby shower!” Kira objected. “You already get to be Aunt Number One.”  
“So? You’re going to be so busy with wedding planning, you won’t have time,” Yuri shot back, crossing her arms and staring Kira down.  
“Ladies, ladies! No need to sharpen the claws,” I cried, jogging up the steps and shoving the key in the deadbolt. “You can both do it, if you so desire. But, Yuri isn’t the only aunt.” I opened the door, looking back at my friends. “You can’t really believe you’re not all going to be an aunt.”  
Within minutes, music was playing and we were all sitting and standing around the kitchen and living room, having a blast celebrating.  
“Come on, we all thought it was going to be Kira that popped one out first,” Sakura confirmed, taking a sip of her sake.  
“What did you guys do, have a secret meeting about this?” Kira asked, laughing.   
She and Yuri shared the loveseat, both of them fitting comfortably while Akiri, Sakura and I sat side by side by side on the couch.  
“No, not a meeting,” I defended. “We were just pretty convinced it would be you. I mean, come on, I for one am surprised you guys didn’t make one in high school!”  
“Yeah, you guys were constantly sneaking off to do it,” Yuri commented, giggling. “I remember you guys going into the woods behind Shang’s house during a party Freshman year and coming to school on Monday with poison ivy all over your ass.”  
“Okay, okay, but nobody tops Sakura screwing that guy in the elevator when we went to Hong Kong on that vacation we took for Spring Break,” Kira replied, gesturing to Sakura staring at her open-mouthed.  
“I don’t know what you guys expected, the elevator broke and we were going up to the room to do it anyway!” Sakura exclaimed, making me spit out my water with laughter. “It was fun, though.”  
“What, the trip or the guy?” I asked through my giggles.  
She smirked. “Both, obviously.”  
We all roared with laughter, gripping our bellies and wiping tears from our cheeks.  
Yuri gasped. “Oh my God! We have to go again before Kagome gives birth!”  
I stifled my laughter. “Guys, I’m not dying. Besides, I don’t give birth until November. We have plenty of time.”  
“All the more reason to go soon,” Kira commented. “We have to go before you get too far into it. You’ll be miserable if we go too late.”  
She was right.  
“Well, when do you wanna go?” I asked, biting my nail on my pointer finger. “You have to give me a month to get the time off.”  
“We’ll just go on a weekend. Leave on a Friday, come back Sunday night,” Akiri stated. “Maybe you’ll have to take the afternoon off on Friday, but if we’re back before Monday we’ll be fine!”  
“Well, I don’t see why not,” I shrugged, cheering erupting around me.  
“Why is everyone screaming?” Aito slurred from the kitchen.   
The boys walked to the living room with drinks in their hands, looking a bit wobbly.  
“Oh, we’re just talking about taking another trip to Hong Kong,” I replied, looking at Inuyasha standing by the fireplace. He was watching me with heat in his eyes, causing warmth to pool in my belly. He was less drunk than the others, but not sober enough to contain his very obvious want for me.  
“Oh, man, let’s go camping while they’re gone!” Raiden exclaimed eagerly.  
A resounding “Hell yeah” from the other men echoed off the walls.  
After everyone left, I went to the bathroom to take off my makeup. Inuyasha followed behind me, a rumble emitting from his chest.  
I swiped the makeup remover over my face, rubbing gently to make sure I got everything. I finished and tossed the washcloth in the hamper, looking up in the mirror. Inuyasha stood behind me, biting his lip as he looked me up and down. He wrapped his arms around my waist, burying his nose in my neck and taking a big sniff.  
“Mmm, you smell good, Gome.” He rubbed his hand up and down my side and placed gentle kisses on my neck. “You’re making me veeeerrrryyy horny. What are we gonna do about that?” He pushed his erection into my backside, making me giggle.  
“Okay, drunky. Let’s get you to bed.” I turned and wrapped an arm around his waist, leading him to the bedroom.  
I sat him down on the bed and began to undress him, pulling his shirt over his head then attempting to unbuckle his belt.  
“Hmm, you’re trying to get me naked, aren’t you?” He murmured, placing his hands on my hips. With a cry I was pulled down on top of him, my legs finding their place on either side of him. “Yeah, I like you this way.” He began kissing my chest, his hands roaming under my shirt and up my back.  
I tried to pull away. “Inuyasha, you’re drunk! Stop that!” I smacked his hand away from my butt, earning a nip on my neck.  
“Come ooon, Bunny. Let me touch you,” he whispered huskily, sending shivers down my spine. “I wanna see those beautiful tits jump.” He pulled my shirt over my head and his hands gripped both of my breasts under my bra. He snaked a hand around to my back and instantly my bra was open, hanging limply from my shoulders.  
I gasped, holding my bra against my chest. “How did you- oh!”  
He pulled my bra off of me and immediately his mouth found my nipple, rolling his tongue against the sensitive bud. Pleasure shot through me and my head lolled back, pushing my chest further into his face. He released a delighted groan and tenderly held my other breast in his hand while he ravaged the one under his tongue.  
“I wanna taste you, Gome,” he murmured against my chest.  
Suddenly I was looking at the ceiling, the comfort of our quilt pressed against my back. I looked down as Inuyasha was pulling my shorts and underwear down my legs, staring hungrily at the apex between my thighs.  
He bit his lip and knelt down in front of the bed, yanking me down so far my butt was hanging off of the edge. My knees were supported by his muscular shoulders, I could feel them rolling as he leaned forward to my heat. The feeling of his tongue flicking the sensitive bud hidden in my folds shocked me even though I knew it was coming. I jerked at the feeling and he gave a hearty groan, shoving his face into me.  
By the end I was a quivering heap on the bed, a fresh gleam of sweat shining across my body. I breathed deeply, still jerking from the aftershock of my orgasms.  
Inuyasha stood, wiping the residual wetness from his face with one hand while the other pumped his erection. He leaned over me, pushing his face into my neck as he slid the tip of his member against my folds.  
“I love watching you cum,” he growled, placing sloppy wet kisses along my jaw and throat. “Let’s do it again.” He thrust himself into me, burying as deep as he could go. As he moved against me, he whispered in my ear, “Bond with me, Kagome.”  
I froze and he noticed, pausing his motions and looking down at me. I stared up at him, mulling over his words in my head. It was a huge step, not necessarily something I wasn’t ready for, but it was a lot to think about. It wasn’t something that should be done on a whim.  
He watched as my thoughts processed and placed his hand on my cheek. “It’s okay. Not now.”  
The understanding in his eyes made the knot in my belly fade away, replaced with a sense of contentment. Bonding in the sense that he meant it was something that shouldn’t be taken lightly. We would be bound by our souls and bodies for the rest of eternity. Almost like marriage for humans, but a whole lot more permanent.  
I nodded, placing a kiss on his bare chest. “I love you.”  
“I love you, Kagome.”


	21. Don't Hate Me, Please Read

Hey, guys. 

I think I've gone over everything I want to touch on a hundred times or so in this PSA-esque post that I'm currently revising and adding to. It's really hard for me to admit defeat when I had so much hope for this story. As I was writing the first ten pages, potential story lines zoomed through my brain at a rate that I couldn't keep up with. I wanted this to be everything that it could be, not just surrounded by one ideal, but also going through the motions of what life throws at you when you're least expecting it. It was going to be my work of art, my expressionist piece that really made me feel that flutter in my chest when I read the lines that I typed. 

My work of art has hit a standstill. 

I feel as though it is disingenuous of me to continue to write this story when at this moment in time my heart is not in it. I started this when I had all the time in the world to be creative, and when I wasn't writing I was painting. But, now that I have a hundred things to think about during my day being fully employed and beginning my life as an adult for the first time, I have no time to keep creativity flowing. I refuse to regurgitate plots and funny lines that I read in stories similar to mine just because I have a clog in my creative drain pipe. It's not fair to you, and it's certainly not something I want to be known for. Plagiarism isn't a good look for anyone.

I wanted to start this off by saying thank you all so much for the feedback that I've gotten from this story. It's been truly amazing to know that people genuinely enjoy my writing. That is precisely why this is so difficult to inform you guys of my impending absence. 

It's with a heavy heart that I tell you that I'm going to be taking a break from this story.

Please know this isn't something I was planning. I wanted to give you something that I could feel proud of, something that had meaning and substance outside of being a fucking fanfiction. Don't think I meant that as an insult to fanfiction writers everywhere, I audibly chuckled writing that last bit. It takes a special writer to be able to take a show or a movie, or even a video game and turn it into their own version of that story that makes people want to assess it with their own eyes.

I'm getting off topic. I want it to be clear that I'm taking a break from writing this story, not from writing in general. I've decided to take a crack at writing short stories, maybe fifty or so pages long, give or take. Something that isn't as daunting as writing an entire book about something that only a small portion of the population of the world will understand and enjoy. I have ideas that have been bouncing around in my head that have nothing to do with the book, and I'd really like to acknowledge them while they're fresh. So yes, they will be Inuyasha themed, they will be short, and yes, I'm taking a break from the book.

I hope that you understand and stick around for what I have coming. It's going to be good, I promise.

Much love, Hannah.


End file.
